"---mil
New York
State College of Agriculture
At Cornell University
Ithaca, N. Y.
The
Professor Dwight Sanderson
Rural Sociology
Library
Cornell University
Library
The original of tiiis book is in
the Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014120814
MAN
PAST AND PRESENT
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
C. F. CLAY, Manager
LONDON : FETTER LANE, E. C. 4
NEW YORK : G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
BOMBAY 1
CALCUTTA V MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd.
MADRAS )
TORONTO : J. M. DENT AND SONS, Ltd.
TOKYO : MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MAN
PAST AND PRESENT
BY
A. H. KEANE
REVISED, AND LARGELY RE-WRITTEN, BY
A. HINGSTON QUIGGIN
AND
A. C. HADDON
READER IN ETHNOLOGY, CAMBRIDGE
CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1920
PREFACE TO NEW EDITION
THOSE who are familiar with the vast amount of ethno-
logical literature published since the close of last century
will realize that to revise and bring up to date a work whose
range in space and time covers the whole world from prehistoric
ages down to the present day, is a task impossible of accom-
plishment within the compass of a single volume. Recent
discoveries have revolutionized our conception of primeval
man, while still providing abundant material for controversy,
and the rapidly increasing pile of ethnographical matter,
although a vast amount of spade work remains to be done, is
but one sign of the remarkable interest in ethnology which is
so conspicuous a feature of the present decade. Even to keep
abreast of the periodical literature, devoted to his subject pro-
vides ample occupation for the ethnologist and few are those
who can now lay claim to such an omniscient title.
Under such circumstances the faults of omission and com-
pression could not be avoided in revising Professor Keane's
work, but it is hoped that the copious references which form
a prominent feature of the present edition will compensate in
some measure for these obvious defects. The main object of
the revisers has been to retain as much as possible of the
original text wherever it fairly represents current opinion at
the present time, but so different is our outlook from that of
1899 that certain sections have had to be entirely rewritten
and in many places pages have been suppressed to make room
for more important information. In every case where new
vi Preface to New Edition
matter has been inserted references are given to the responsible
authorities and the fullest use has been made of direct quotation
from the authors cited.
Mrs Hingston Quiggin is responsible for the whole work
of revision with the exception of Chapter XI, revised by
Miss Lilian Whitehouse, while Dr A. C. Haddon has criticized,
corrected and supervised the work throughout.
A. H. Q.
A. C. H.
lo October, 1919.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
. I. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ..'.... i
II. THE METAL AGES— HISTORIC TIMES AND PEOPLES 20
III. THE AFRICAN NEGRO : I. SUDANESE .... 40
IV. THE AFRICAN NEGRO : II. BANTUS— NEGRILLOES—
BUSHMEN— HOTTENTOTS 84
V. THE OCEANIC NEGROES: PAPUASIANS (PAPUANS
AND MELANESIANS)— NEGRITOES— TASMANIANS 132
VI. THE SOUTHERN MONGOLS 163
VII. THE OCEANIC MONGOLS 219
VIII. THE NORTHERN MONGOLS 254
IX. THE NORTHERN MONGOLS {continued) .... 300
X. THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES 332
XI. THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES (continued) .... 388
Xn. THE PRE-DRAVIDIANS: JUNGLE TRIBES OF THE
DECCAN, SAKAI, AUSTRALIANS 422 ,
XIII. THE CAUCASIC PEOPLES 438
XIV. THE CAUCASIC PEOPLES {continued) 488
XV. THE CAUCASIC PEOPLES {conHnued) 501
APPENDIX 556
INDEX 562
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
(at the end of the volume)
PLATE I.
1. Hausa slave of Tunis (Western Sudanese Negro).
2. Zulu girl, South Africa (Bantu Negroid). ,
3. 4. Abraham Lucas, Age 32, South Africa (Koranna Hottentot).
5, 6. Swaartbooi, Age 20, South Africa (Bushman).
PLATE IL
1. Andamanese (Negrito).
2. Semang, Malay Peninsula (Negrito).
3. Acta, Philippines (Negrito).
4. Central African Pygmy (Negrillo).
5-7. Tapiro, Netherlands New Guinea (Negrito).
PLATE in.
1, 2. Jemmy, native of Hampshire Hills, Tasmania (Tasmanian).
3, 4. Native of Oromosapua, Kiwai, British New Guinea (Papuan).
5. 6. Native of Hula, British New Guinea (Papuo-Melanesian).
PLATE IV.
1. Chinese man (Mixed Southern Mongol),
2. Chinese woman of Kulja (mixed Southern Mongol).
3. 4. Kara-Kirghiz of Semirechinsk.
5. Kara- Kirghiz woman of Semirechinsk,
6. Solon of Kulja (Manchu-Tungus).
PLATE V.
1. Jelai, an Iban (Sea-Dayak) of the Rejang river, Sarawak, Borneo
(mixed Proto-Malay).
2. Buginese, Celebes (Malayan).
3. Bontoc Igorot, Luzon, Philippines (Malayan).
4. Bagobo, Mindanao, Philippines (Malayan).
5. 6. Kenyah girls, Sarawak, Borneo (mixed Proto-Malay).
PLATE VI.
1. Samoyed, Tavji.
2. Tungus.
3. Ostiak of the Yenesei (Palaeo-Siberian).
4. Kalmiik woman (Western Mongol).
5. Gold of Amur river (Tungus).
6. Gilyak woman (N.E. Mongol).
X List of Illustrations
PLATE VII.
1. Ainu woman, Yezo, Japan (Palaeo-Siberian).
2. Ainu man, Yezo, Japan (Palaeo-Siberian).
3. 4. Fine and coarse types of Japanese men (mixed Manchu-Korean and
Southern Mongol.)
5. Korean (mixed Tungus-Eastern Mongoloid).
6. Lapp (Finnish).
PLATE VI il.
1. Eskimo, Port Clarence, West Alaska.
2. Indian of the north-west coast of North America. .'Kwakiutl (Waka-
shan stock).
3. Cocopa, Lower California (Yuman stock).
4. Navaho, Arizona (Athapascan linguistic stock).
5. 6. Buffalo Bull Ghost, Dakota of Crow Creek (Siouan stock).
PLATE rx.
1. Carib, British Guiana.
2. Guatuso, Costa Rica.
3. Native of Otovalo, Ecuador.
4. Native of Zdmbisa, Ecuador.
5. Tehuel-che man, Patagonia.
6. Tehuel-che woman, Patagonia.
PLATE X.
1. Sita Wanniya, a Henebedda Vedda, Ceylon (Pre-Dravidian).
2. Sakai, Perak, Malay Peninsula (Pre-Dravidian). 1
3. Irula of Chingleput, Nilgiri Hills,. South India (Pre-Dravidian),
4. Paniyan woman, Malabar, South India (Pre-Dravidian).
5. Kaitish, Central Australia (Australian).
6. Mulgrave woman (Australian).
PLATE XI.
I, 2. Dane (Nordic).
3. Dane (mixed Alpine).
4. Breton woman of Guingamp (mixed Alpine).
5. Swiss woman (Nordic).
6. Swiss woman (Alpine).
PLATE XII.
1. Catalan man, Spain (Iberian).
2. Irishman, Co. Roscommon (Mediterranean).
3. 4. Kababish, Egyptian Sudan (mixed Semite).
5. Egyptian Bedouin (mixed Semite).
6. Afghdn of Zerafsh^n (Iranian).
PLATE XIII.
I, 2. Bisharin, Egyptian Sudan (Hamite).
3. Beni Amer, Egyptian Sudan (Hamite).
4. Masai, British East Africa (mixed Nilote and Hamite).
5. Shilluk, Egyptian Sudan (Nilote, showing approach to Hamitic type).
6. Shilluk, Egyptian Sudan (Nilote).
List of Illustrations xi
PLATE XIV.
I, 2. Kurd, Nimrud-Dagh, lake Van, Kurdistan, Asia Minor (Nordic).
3, 4. Armenian, Kessab, Djebel Akrah, Kurdistan (Armenoid Alpine).
5. Tajik woman of E. Turkestan (Alpine).
6. Tajik of Tashkend (mixed Alpine and Turki).
PLATE XV.
I, 2. Sinhalese, Ceylon (mixed "Aryan").
3. Hindu merchant. Western India (mixed " Aryan ").
4. Kling woman, Eastern India (Dravidian).
5. Linga Banajiga, South India (Dravidian).
6. Vakkaliga, Canarese, South India (mixed Alpine).
PLATE XVI.
I, 2. Ruatoka and his wife, Raiatea (Polynesian).
3. Tiawhiao, Maori, New Zealand (Polynesian).
4. Maori woman, New Zealand (Polynesian).
5. 6. Girls of the Caroline Islands (Micronesian).
We offer our sincere thanks for the use of the following photographs :
A. H. Keane, Ethnology (1896), iv. 2, 3, 4, S, 6; ix. 3, 4 ; xii. 6; xiv. 5, 6.
A. H. Keane, Man, Past and Present (1899), i. 2 ; 11. 3 ; v. 2 ; vi. 4, 5, 6 ; vii. 5 ;
IX. I, 2 ; X. 4, 6; XII. 5.
A. R. Brown, II. i.
Prof R. B. Yapp, 11. 2.
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, 11. 4 ; v. 4; vii. i, 2 ; viii. i, 2,
3,4; IX. 5,6; XV. I, 2.
Dr WoUaston, cf Pygmies and Papuans, p. 212 ; II. 5, 6, 7.
Dr G. Landtman, ill. 3, 4.
Anthony Wilkin, III. 5, 6.
Prof C. G. Seligman, v. i;{The Veddas, pi. v)x. i ; xii. 3, 4; xiii. i, 2, 3, 5, 6.
L. F. Taylor, V. 3.
A. C. Haddon, I. 3, 4, 5, 6; m. i, 2 ; iv. i ; v. j, 6; vii. 6; xi. i, 2, 3; xii.
I, 2; XIII. 4; XVI. I, 2, 3, 4.
Miss M. A. Czaplicka, VI. i, 2, 3.
Dr W. Crooke (cf Northern India, pi. ill), XV. 3.
Baelz, VII. 3, 4. '
Bureau of American Ethnology, viii. 5, 6.
E. Thurston {Castes and Tribes of Southern India, II. p. 387), x. 3 ; {ibid. IV.
pp. 236, 240), XV. 5; XV. 6.
Sir Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen and Messrs Macmillan & Co. {Across
Australia, 11. fig. 169), x. 5.
Prof J. KoUmann, XI. 5, 6.
P. W. Luton, XII 2. '
Prof F. von Luschan and the Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute
{Journ. Roy. Anth. Inst., XLI., pi. xxiv, i, 2, pi. xxx, i, 2), xiv. i, 2, 3, 4.
Dr W. H. Furness, XVl. 5, 6.
CHAPTER I
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
The World peopled by Migration from one Centre by Pleistocene Man— The
Primary Groups evolved each in its special Habitat— Pleistocene Man :
Pithecanthropus erecUis; The Maner ]?lw, Homo Heidelbergensis ; The Piltdown
skull, Eoanthropus Dawsoni — General View of Pleistocene Man — The first
Migrations — Early Man and his Works — Classification of Human Types : H.
primigenius, Neandertal or Mousterian Man ; H. recens, Galley Hill or Aurig-
nacian Man — Physical Types — Human Culture: Reutelian, Mafflian, Mesvinian,
Strepyan, Chellean, Acheulean, Mousterian, Aurignacian, Solutrian, Magda-
lenian, Azilian — Chronology — The early History of Man a Geological
Problem — The Human Varieties the Outcome of their several Environments
— Correspondence of Geographical with Racial and Cultural Zones.
In order to a clear understanding of the many difficult
questions connected with the natural history of the human
family, two cardinal points have to be steadily
borne in mind — the specific unity of all existing peopled °by Mi-
varieties, and the dispersal of their generalised gration from one
precursors over the whole world in pleistocene p^"*''^ ^'J ^'^is-
times. As both points have elsewhere been
dealt with by me somewhat fully ^ it will here suffice to show
their direct bearing on the general evolution of the human
species from that remote epoch to the present day.
It must be obvious that, if man is specifically one, though
not necessarily sprung of a single_pair, he miJsFTiave" FaHTin
homely language, a single cradTe-Iand, fromjvhich the peopling
of the earth was"broiight aBouf "H)rinigra|imi, hi5t "by inde-
'pendeot developmenTs"" from different species in so many
independent geographical areas.
It follows further, and this point is all-import-ant, that,
since the world was peopled h^ pleistocene^roari, it was
' Ethnology ^ Chaps. V. and VII.
2 Man: Past and Present [ch.
peopled by a generalised ^.S^^z^I^SSlJ^^E^-S^SL..^—^
later racial differences^ The existing grougs^^_according to
this IiypotEesis, have developed in different areas. -Jjide-
pendently and divergently by continuous adaptation Jo their
TTie Prima several envjronm.ents. Tf they still constitute
Groups evolved mere varieties, and not distinct species, the
each in its reason is because all come of like pleistocfine
special Habitat, g^jj^estry, while the divergences have been con-
fined to relatively narrow limits, that is, not wide enough to
be regarded zoologically as specific differences.
The battle between monogenists_an d polygenists cannot
be decided until more facts are at ourolsposair and much
wili doubtless be said on both sides lor some time to come .
Among the views of human origins brought forward in recent
years should be mentioned the daring theory of Klaatsch".
Recognising _two distinct human types, Neandertal and
xAurignac (see'pprS, 9 below), and two distinct antliropbid
types, gorilla and orang-utan, he '~derives"Neandeftal man
ana^mciy^OTll'lirTrolB one^^^^c^^ cincesfor, and Aiirighac
man and Asiatic orang-utan from another. Though ana-
tomists, especially those conversant with anthropoid structure',
are not able to accept this view, they admit that many diffi-
culties may be solved by the recognition of more than one
primordial stock of human ancestors*. The questions of
adaptation to climate and environment ^ the possibilities of
degeneracy, the varying degrees of physiological activity, of
successful mutations, the effects of crossing and all the com-
plicated problems of heredity are involved in the discussion,
and it must be acknowledged that our information concerning
all of these is entirely inadequate.
Nevertheless all speculations on the subject are not based
merely On hypotheses, and three discoveries of late years
have provided solid facts" lor 'the worEihg' out"'orthe
problem.
These discoveries were the remains of Pithecanthropus
^ See A. H. K^ne, Ethnology, 1909, Chap. VII. ^
2 H. Klaatsch, "Die Aurignac-Rasse und ihre Stellung im Stammbaum des
Menschen," Ztschr. f. Eth. ui. 1910. ^•e.t. ^■io Prdhistorische Zeitschrift, Vol. i.
1909.
' Cf. A. Keith's criticisms in Nature, Vol. LXXXV. 191 1, p. 50,8.
* W. L. H. Duckworth, Prehistoric Man, 1912, p. 146.
* W. Ridgeway, "The Influence of Environment on VLaxi," Journ. Roy. Anthr.
Inst, Vol. XL. 1910, p. 10.
i] General Considerations 3
lereciits^ in Java, in 1892, of the M auer jaw", near Heidelberg,
in 1907^ and ot thePutdowrrskiaTl'' ili^ussexTn
^191^' XltHougEl;Tiriilauer7av^ Man.'"''™^
without hesitation, the controversy concerniog
the correct interpretation of the Javan fossils has been raging
for more than twenty years and shows no sign of abating,
while Eoanthropus Dawsoni is too recent an intruder into the
arena to be fairly dealt with at present. Certain facts how-
ever stand out clearly. In late pliocene or early pleistocene
times certain early ancestral forms were already in existence
which can scarcely be excluded from the Hominidae. In
range they were as widely distributed as Java in the east to
Heidelberg and Sussex in the west, and in spite of divergence
in type a certain correlation is not impossible, even if the
Piltdown specimen should finally be regarded as representing
a distinct genus^ Each contributes facts of the utmost im-
portance for the tracing out of the history of human evolution.
Pithecanthropus raises the vexed question as to
whether the erect attitude or brain development freS"*""^"^
came first in the story. The conjunction of pre-
human braincase with human thighbone appeared to favour
the popular view that the erect attitude was the earlier, but
the evidence of embryology suggests a reverse order. And
although at first the thighbone was recognised as distinctly
human it seems that of late doubts have been cast on this
interpretation", and even the claim to the title erectus is called
in question. The characters of straightness and slenderness
on which much stress was laid are found in exaggerated form
in gibbons and lemurs. The intermediate position in respect
of mental endowment (in so far as brain can be estimated by
cranial capacity) is shown in the accompanying diagram in
which the cranial measurements of Pithecanthropus are com-
pared with those of a chimpanzee and prehistoric man. The
1 E. Dubois, " Pithecanthropus erectus, transitional form between Man and the
Apes," Sci. Trans. R. Dublin Soc. i8g8.
2 O. Schoetensack, Der Unterkiefer des Homo Beidelbergensis, etc., 1908.
3 C. Davson and A. Smith V^^oodward, "On the Discovery of a Palaeolithic
Skull and Mandible," etc., Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. 1913. • ■ ■
* This was the view of A. Smith Woodward when the skull was first «xhvbit6d
{Joe. cit.), but in bis paper, " Missing Links among Extinct Animals/' Brit. Ass.^
Biraiingham, 19 13, he is inclined to regard " Piltdown man, or some .close relative"
as " on the direct Une of descent with ourselves." For A. Keith's criticism see
The An'tiquity of Mem, 191 S, p- S°3-
* W. L. H. Duckworth, Prehistoric Man, i^ii, p. 8.
Man: Past and Present
[CH.
teeth strengthen the evidence, for they are described as too
large for a man and too small for an ape. Thus Pithecan-
thropus has been confidently assigned to a place; in a"fefandh
the humanTamuy tree.
Cro-Magnon
POSITION OF p. ERECTUS.
(Manouvrier, Bui. Soc. d'Anihrop. 1896, p. 438.)
The Mauer jaw, the geological age of which is undisputed,
also represents intermediate characters. .The extraordinary
Mauer jaw. Strength and thickness of bone, the wide as-
Homo Heidei- cending ramus with shallow sigmoid notch
bergensis. (distinctly simian features) and the total absence
of chin' would deny it a place among human jaws, but the
teeth, which are all fortunately preserved in their sockets, are
not only definitely human, but show in certain peculiarities
less simian features than are to be found in the dentition of
modern man I
1 For the relation between chin formation and power of speech', see E. Walkhoff,
" Der Unterkiefer der Anthropomorphen und des Menschen in seiner funktionellen
Entwicklung und Gestalt," E. SAexiVdi, Menschenqffen, 1902 ; H. Obermaier, Der
Mensch der Vorzeit, 1912, p. 362; and W. Wright, "The Mandible of Man from
the Morphological and Anthropological points of view," Essays and Studies pre-
sented to W. Ridgeway, 1913.
2 Cf. W. L. H. Duckworth, Prehistoric Man, 1912, p. 10, and A. Keith, The
Antiquity of Man, 191 5, p. 237.
I]
General Considerations
The cranial capacity of the Piltdown skull, though variously
timatecl\ is certaiJnjTgTeater than""™that of puMown .k«ii
estimSCT IS certainly greater ui^„ mat oi patdown skull.
J^tthecanthropus, the general outlines with steeply Eoanthropus
rgundedforehead resenible™lhari°of'^^ Dawsoni.
mattj^S^nfRe" bGhes" are almost without exception typically
RECENT
PLEISTOCENE
•4,000 ft
400J000 YEARS
/>yy
PLIOCENe
epoo ft
500.000 YEARS
MIOCENE
apoo f *
900;000YIARS:
■ *.ji '"' ■■■■-
HeioELBeio
eoAHTMoopua
PiTHEC^NTMftoPVS
KC/MOCPTHAL
GENEALOGICAL TREE OF MAN's ANCESTRY.
(A. Keith, T&e Antiquity of Man, 1915 ; fig. 187, p. 501.)
Jl'irP^" The jaw, however, though usually attributed to
the same individual^ recalls the primitive features of the
' A. Smith Woodward, 1070 c.c. ; A. Keith, 1400 c.c.
2 G. G. MacCurdy, following G. S. Miller, Smithsonian Misc. Colls. Vol. 65,
No. 12 (1915), is convinced that "in place of Eoanthropus dawsoni we have two
individuals^belonging to different genera," a human cranium and the jaw of a
chimpanzee. Science, N.S. Vol. XLIII. 1916, p. 231. See also Appendix A.
6 Man : Past and Present [cri.
Mauer speciffien in its thick ascending portion and shallow
notch, while iii certain characters it differs ffoifi any kflO^ft
jaw, ancient or tnoderfl'. The evidence afforded by the teeth
is even more striking. The teeth of Pitke^jmtMdfiMH tf^nd q£
and although primitive in type, are far more advanced in the
line of human evolution than the lowly features with which
they are associated would lead one to expect. The Piltdown
teeth are more primitive in certain characters than those of
either the Javan or the Heidelberg remains. The first molar
has been compared to that of Taubach, the most ape-like of
human or pre-human teeth hitherto recorded, but the canine
tooth (found by P. Teilhard in the same stratum in 1913') finds
no parallel in any known human jaw ; it resembles the milk
canine of the chimpanzee more than that of the adult dentition.
It cannot be said that any clear view of pleistocene man
General View of ^^^ ^^ obtained from these imperfect scraps of
Pleistocene evidence, valuable though they are. Rather may
^*"- we agree with Keith that the problem grows
more instead of less complex. "In our first youthful burst
of Darwinianism we pictured our evolution as a simple pro-
cession of forms leading from ape to man. Each age, as it
passed, transformed the men of the time one stage nearer to
us — one more distant from- the ape. The true picture is very
different. We have to conceive an ancient - world in which
the family of mankind waS~BroIcen"'°ijp~into'n'arrow groupsjOT
generaTeach genus again divided into'aT'number of species —
much as we see in the monkey or ape world of to-day. Xhsn
out of that great welter of forms pnespedes became the
dpmmant form, and ultimately the soTeL suryi vi ng one— the
species represented by the modern_ races of mankjndj"
We~ may assiume~tHerefore that the earth was mainlyj
peopled by the generalised pleistocene precursors, who moved I
aboot, like the other migrating faunas, uncon- 1
mgrations. sciously^ everywhere following the lines of least
resistance, advancing or receding, and acting
generally on blind ittipulse rathef than of any set purpose.
^ For a full description see Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. March, 1913. Also
A. Keith, The Antiquity of Man^ 19151 P- 320, dnd pp. 430-452.
* C. DaeWSoh and A. Siilith Woodward, " Supplementary Note on the Diseovfery
of ai Paila«olithic Human Skull and Mandible at Piltdcrwh (Stissex)," Q^art. Jouiffi.
Oeol. Soc. Apifil, 1914.
^ Thi Antiquity of Man^ 1915, p. 209. .
i] General Considerations 7
That such must have been the nature of the first migratory
movements will appear evident when we consider that they
were carried on by rude hordes, all very much alike, and
differing not greatly from other zoological groups, and further
that these migrations took place prior to the development of
air^turarippIaiicer"Ee"yond the aBHttj^to 'wield~a "Brolcen
brancK or a saplmg, or else chip or flake primitive stone
implements\
Herein lies the explanation of the curious phenomenon,
which was a stumbling-block to premature systematists, that
all the works of early man everywhere present
the most startling^gg^^E'ces: affordmg- abso- Jis'S^jJi" ^^
lutely no elements for classification, for instance,
during the times corresponding with the Chellean or first
period of the Old Stonis Age. The implements of palaeo-
lithic type so common in parts of South India, South Africa,
the Sudan, Egypt, etc., present a remarkable resemblance to one
another. This, while affording 2i prima fades case for, is not
conclusive of, the migrations of a definite type of humanity.
After referring to the identity of certain objects from the
Hastings kitchen-middens and a barrow near Sevenoaks,
W. J. L. Abbot proceeds : " The first thing that would strike
one in looking over a few trays of these implements is the
remarkable likeness which they bear to those of Dordogne.
Indeed many of the figures in the magnificent ' Reliquiae
Aquitanicae ' might almost have been produced from these
specimens^" And Sir J. Evans, extending his glance over a
wider horizon, discovers implements _in other distant lands
"so identical in form and character with British specimens
that they might have be^ejri_manufactured by the sarne hands .^^
On the banks of the Nile, many hundreds of feet above its "|
present level, implements of the European types have been 4
discovered, while in Somaliland, in an ancient river valley, at
a great elevation above the sea, Seton-Karr has collected a
large number of implements formed of flint and quartzite,
which, judging from their form and character, might have
been dug out of the drift-deposits of the Somme and the
Seine, the Thames or the ancient Solent'."
1 Thus Lucretius :
"Anna antiqua manus, ungues, dentesque fuerunt,
Et lapides, et item silvarum fragmina rami."
2 Jour. Anthrop. Inst. 1896, p. 133.
3 Inaugural Address^ Brit. Ass. Meeting, Toronto, 1897.
8; Man : Past and Present [ch.^
It was formerly held that man himself showed a similar
uniformity, and all palaeolithic skulls were referred to one
long-headed type, called, from the most famous example, the
Neandertal, which was regarded as having close afifihities
with the present Australians. But this resemblance is shown
by Boule' and others to be purely superficial, and recent
archaeological finds indicate that more than one racial type
was in existence in the Palaeolithic Age.
Classification of W. L. H. Duckworth on anatomical evi-
Human Types, dence constructs the following table".
Group I. Early ancestral forms.
Ex. gr. H. heidelbergensis.
Group II. Subdivision A. H. primigenius.
Ex. gr. La Chapelle.
Subdivision B. H. recens; with varieties
[H. fossilis. Ex. gr. Galley Hill.
\H. sapiens.
H. Obermaier' argues as follows: Homo primigenius A?,
neither the representative of an intermediate species between
ape and man, nor a lower or distinct type than Homo sapiens,
but an older primitive variety (race) of the latter, which
survives in exceptional cases down to the present day^
Clearly then, according to the rules of zoological classification,
we must term the two, Homo sapiens var. primigenius, as
compared with Homo sapiens var. recens.
Whatever classification or nomenclature may be adopted
the dual division in palaeolithic times is now generally
H primigenius recognised. The more primitive type is cortP»v
Neandertal or ' monly called Neandertal man, from the famous
Mousterian cranium found m the Neandertal cave in 1857,
^' or Mousterian man, from the culture associa-
tions. To this group belong the Gibraltar skulP, and the
skeletons from Spy°, and Krapina, Croatia", together witfi"
1 M. Boule, "L'homme fossile de la Chapelle-aux-Saints," Annales de PaUon-
tologie, 191 1 (1913). Cf. also H. Obermaier, Der Mensch der Vorzeit, 1912, p. 364.
^ Prehistoric Man, 1912, p. 60.
' Der Mensch der Vorzeit, 191 2, p. 365..
* This is not generally accepted. See A. Keith's diagram, p. 5 and pp. 9-10.
6 W. J. SoUas, "On the Cranial and Facial Characters of the Neandertal Race,"
Phil. Trans. 1907, CXCIV.
8 J. Fraipont and M. Lohest, " Recherches Ethnographiques sur les Ossements
Humains," etc., Arch, de Biologies 1887.
' Gorjanovic-Kramberger, Der diluviale Mensch von Krapina in Kroatia, 1906.
I]
General Considerations
the later discoveries (i 908-11) at La Chapelle' (Corr^ze),
Le Moustier^ La Ferassie' (Dordogne) and many others.
Palaeolithic examples of the modern human type have
been found at Briix (Bohemia)*, Brunn (Moravia)' and Galley
Hill in Kent«, but the most complete find was H.recens, Galley
tnat at i^ombe Capelle in 1909^ The numerous Hiii or Aurig-
skeletons , found at Cro-Magnon' and at the "acianMan.
Grottes de Grimaldi at Mentone' though showing certain
skeletal differences may be included in this group, the earliest
examples of which are associated with Aurignacian culture".
From the evidence contributed by these examples the
main characteristics of the two groups may be indicated,
although, owing to the imperfection of the
records, any generalisations must necessarily be ^''y^"=*' "^^P^^-
tentative and subject to criticism.
The La Chapelle skull recalls many of the primitive
features of the "ancestral types." The low receding fore-
head, the overhanging brow-ridges, forming
continuous horizontal bars of bone overshadow- "g^° P"™"
ing the orbits, the inflated circumnasal region, ^^'""^■
the enormous jaws, with massive ascending ramus, shallow
sigmoid notch, "negative" chin and other "simian" characters
seem reminiscent of Pithecanthropus and Homo Heidel-
bergensis. The cranial capacity however is estimated at
over 1600 cc, thus exceeding that of the average modern
European, and this development, even though associated, as
M. Boule has pointed out, with a comparatively lowly brain,
is of striking significance. The low stature, probably about
1600 mm. (under 5^ feet) makes the size of the skull and
cranial capacity all the more remarkable. " A survey of the
' M. Boule, " L'homme fossile de la Chapelle-aux-Saints," UAnthr. xix. 1908,
and Annates de Paldontologie, 191 1 (1913).
^ H. Klaatsch, Prahistorische Zeitschrift, Vol. I. 1909.
2 Peyrony and Capitan, Rev. de VEcole d'Anihrop. 1909 ; Bull. Soc. d'Anthr.
de Paris, 1 9 10.
^ G. Schwalbe, " Der Schadel von Briix," Zeitschr.f. Morph. u. Anthr. 1906.
^ Makowsky, "Der diluviale Mensch in Loss von Briinn," Mitt. Anthrop. Gesell.
in Wien, 1892.
" See A. Keith, The Antiquity of Man, 1915, Chap. X.
' H. Klaatsch, "Die Aurignac-Rasse," etc., Zeitschr.f. Ethn. LIl. 1910.
^ L. Lartet, " Une sepulture des troglodytes du Pdrigord," and Broca, " Sur les
crines et ossements des Eyzies," Bull. Soc. d'Anthr. de Paris, 1868.
' R. Verneau, Les Grottes de Grimaldi, 1906-11.
^o For a complete list with bibliographical references, see H. Obermaier, "Les
restes humains Quaternaires dans I'Europe centrale," Anthr. 1905, p. 385, 1906, p. 5 5.
10 Man: Past and Present [ch.
characters of Neanderthal man — as manifested by his skeleton,
brain cast, and teeth— have convinced anthropologists of two
things : first, that we are dealing with a form of man totally
different from any form now living; and secondly, that the
kind of difference far exceeds that which separates the most
divergent of modern human races\"
The earliest j:omplete and authentic example of. ^Aurig-
naci"an man''~"was the skeleton d[scoyer^ed. near^C^bg
rr ' ~~CapellelBordoineriri"l969V" The stature is
Homo recens. fowina^S^^amg that of the Neandertal type,
but the limb bones. are slig'hter and the build is altogether
lighter anH^more slender. Ifie greatest contrast Jiesmjthe
'sgull;;;;^'"Tire forehead is vertical' instead of receding, and the
strongly projecting 'brow^nSges'are diminished, the jaw is
less massive and less simian with regard to all the features
mentione3 above. Especially is this difference noticeable in
the projection of the^in, which now for the first time showf
the modenTliuman outline. In short there are no salient
features which cannot be matched among the living races of
the present day.
On the cultural side no less than on the physical, the
„ thousands of years which the lowest estimate
uman u nre. ^^^j-jj^^^gg j^ j.|^g Early Stone Age were marked
by slow but continuous changes.
The Reutelian (at the junction of the Pliocene and
TTeistocene), Maffiian and Mesvinian industries,
SSviS: recognised by jr^iltoru^^
the doubtful Eolithic Period,„|ig^^y£t,,,g£jae.i:a,lly
accegted,'. ^
The lowest palaeolithic deposit is the Strepyan^ so called
from Strepy, near Charleroi, typically represented at St Acheul,
Amiens, and recognised also in the Thames
^^ ' Valley*. The tools, exhibit deliberate flaking,
and mark the transition between eolithic and palaeolithic
work. The associated fauna includes two species of elephant,
1 A. Keith, Tke Antiquity of Man, 1915, p. 158. See also W. J. SoUas, AncieHt
Hunters, 1915, p. 186 if.
2 H. Klaatsch, " Die AurigtiaC'Rasse," Zeitschf.f. Eth. igio, Lll. p. 513.
' The Mesviniail implements are now accepted as artefacts and placed by
H. Obermaier immediately below the Chelleafl, though M. Commont interprets
them as Acheulean or even later. See W.J. SoWas, Ancient Hunters, 1915, p. 132 ff.
' * R. Smith and H. Dewey, " Stratification at Swanscombe," Archaeologia, LXlV.
1912.
i-t Genemt Consideratiom n
B. meridionalis and E. antiques, two species of rhinoceros,
R. Etruscus and R. Merckii, and the hippopotamus. It is
possible that the Mauer jaw and the Piltdown skull belong
to this stage.
The Cheljean |^(;;^psfry^ with the typical coarsely flaked
almond-shapeH implements, occurs abundantly in the South of
England and in France,^ les*s~c5rrrffi^nly in Bel- -"^ --"" "•- -
V." " 7='"- ~ — A - - .' "- ,-!,.— — ■ . Chellean.
_guim, Germany, Austria-Hungary andjRussia,
""^WHrexampIesTiave been recognised irTTalestine, Egypt,
SomaJTlari3rtrape Colony, Madras aiTH" other localities.T^ugh
outside Europe the date is not always ascertainable and the
form is not an absolute criterion^
Acheulean types succeed apparently in direct descent but
the implements are altogether lighter, sharper, more .efiSfisiJt,
and " are characterised by finer workmanship
and carefully retouched edges. A small finely
finished lanceolate implement is typical of the sub-industry
or local development at La Micoque (Dordogne).
The Chellean industry is associated with a warm climate
and the remains of Elephas antiquus, Rhinoceros Merckii and
hippopotamus. Lower Acheulean shows little variation, but
with Upper Acheulean certain animals indicating a colder
climatF"make iheu' appearance, including the mammoth,
Elepnasprirm^eniuSy and the woolly rhinoceros,_i?. ticho-
rhinus, but nonrelndeer.
The Mousterian industry is entirely distinct from its
predecessors. The warm fauna has disappeared, the reindeer
first occurs together with the musk ox, arctic ,, , .
fox, the marmot and other cold-loving animals.
Man appears to have jQjjghL. rgfuge.JiL.the caves, and from
complete skeleton^.. found in cave deposits of this stage we
gam the first clear ideas concerning the physical type oi man
of the early palaeolithic period. Typical I^ousterian irn-
plements consist of leaf^like or triangular points made from
flakes struck from"the "noSule instead of~ffOm^the dress^
nodule itselfTasin tKe^arlier stages. The Levallois flakes,
occurring at the base of the Mousterian (sometimes included
in the Acheulean Stage), initiate this new style of workman-
ship, but the Mousterian point shows an improvement in
(S\ 1 So railed from Chelles-sur-Marne. near Paris.
2 Cf, ]• Ddchelette, Manuet d'A nlUologie prikistoriquet i. IgdS, p. 89.
12 Man: Past and Present [ch.
shape and a greater mastery in technique, producing a more
efficient tool for piercing and cutting. Scrapers, carefully
retouched, with a curved edge are also characteristic, besides
many other forms. The complete skeletons from Le Moustier
itself, La Chapelle, La Ferassie, and Krapina all belong to
this stage, which marks the end of the lower palaeolithic
period, the Age of the Mammoth.
The upper palaeolithic or Reindeer Age is divided into
Aurignacian, Solutrian; and Magdalenian^ culture stages, with
Auri acian ^^ Azilian' separating the Magdalenian from
ungnacian. ^^ neolithic period. Each stage is distin-
guished by its implements and its art. The Aurignacian
fauna, though closely resembling the Mousterian, indicates an
amelioration of climate, the most abundant animals being the
bison, horse, cave lion, and cave hyena, and human settle-
ments are again found in the open. Among, the typical
implements are finely worked knife-like blades (ChS.telperron
point, Gravette point), keeled scrapers (Tart6 type), burins
or gravers, and various tools and ornaments of bone. Art is
represented by engravings and wall paintings, and to this
stage belong statuettes representing nude female figures such
as those of Brassempouy, Mentone, Pont-a-Lesse (Belgium),
Predmost and Willendorf, near Krems. The Neandertal
type appears to have died out and Aurignacian man belongs
to the modern type represented at Combe Capelle. If the
evidence of the figurines is to be accepted, a steatopygous
race was at this time in existence, which Sollas is inclined to
connect with the Bushmen'.
The Solutrian stage is characterised by the abundance of
the horse, replaced in the succeeding period by the reindeer.
_ , ^ . The Solutrians seem to have been a warlike
Solutnan. , , . ,
steppe people who came irom the east mto
western Europe. Their subsequent fate has not been eluci-
dated. The culture appears to have had a limited range,
only a few stations being found outside Dordogne and the
neighbouring departments. The technique, as shown in the
laurel-leaf and willow-leaf points, exhibits a perfection of
workmanship unequalled in the Palaeolithic Age, and only
excelled by late prehistoric knives of Egypt.
^ From Aurignac (Haute-Garonne), Solutrd (Saone-et-Loire), and La Made-
' leine (Dordogne).
^ Mas-d'Azil, Arifege. ^ W. J. Sollas, Ancient Hunters, 191 5, pp. 378-9.
i] General Considerations 13
The rock shelter at La Madeleine has given its name to
the closing epoch of the Palaeolithic Age. The flint industry
shows distinct decadence, but the working; in ,, . , .
bone and horn was at its zenith ; indeed, so
marked is the contrast between this and the preceding stage
that Breuil is convinced that "the first Magdalenians were
not evolved from the Solutriaris ; they were new-comers in
our region \" The typical implements are barbed harpoons
in reindeer antler (later that of the stag), often decorated
with engravings. Sculpture and engravings of animals in
life-like attitudes are among the most remarkable records of
the age, and the polychrome pictures in the caves of Altamira,
"the Sistine chapel of Quaternary Art," are the admiration of
the. world ^
In the cave of Mas-d'Azil, between the. Magdalenian and
Neolithic deposits occurs a stratum, termed Azilian, which, to
some extent, bridges over the obscure transition ^jjilian
between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic Ages.
The reindeer has disappeared, and its place is taken by the
stag. The realistic art of the Magdalenians is succeeded by
a more geometric style. In flint working a return is made to
Aurignacian methods, and a particular development of pygmy
flints has received the name Tardenoisian\
The characteristic implement is still the harpoon, but it
differs in shape from the Magdalenian implement, owing to
the different structure of the material. Painted pebbles,
marked with red and black lines, in some cases suggesting a
script, have given rise to much controversy. Their meaning
at present remains obscured
The question of prehistoric chronology is a difficult one,
and the more cautious authorities do not commit- themselves
to dates. Of late years, however, sUch re- chronology
searches as those of A. Penck and E. Bruckner
1 "Les Subdivisions de paldolithique sup^rieur," Congris Internat. d'Anth.
iqi2, XIV. pp. 190-3.
2 H. Breuil and E. Cartailhac, La Caverne d^ Altamira, igo6. For a list of
decorated caves, with the names of their discoverers, see J. D^chelette, Manuel
d'ArMologie prMstorique, i. 1908, p. 241. A complete Repertoire de I'Art
Quaternaire is given by S. Reinach, 1913; and for chronology see E. Pfette,
"Classifications des Sediments formds dans les cavernes pendant I'Age du Renne,"
Anthr. 1904. . .
3 From La F6re-en-Tardenois, Aisne.
< Cf. W. J. SoUas, Ancient Hunters, 191 5, pp. 95. 534 f-
H
Man: Past and Present
[CH.
in the Alps^ and of Baron de Geer and W. C. Br^gger in
Sweden^ have provided a sound basis for calculations. Penck
recognises four periods of glaciation during the pleistocene
period, which he has named after typical areas, the Gunz,
Mindel, Riss and Wiirm. He dates the Wiirm maximum at
between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago and estimates the
duration of the Riss- Wiirm interglacial period at about
100,000 years. According to his calculations the Chellean
industry occurs in the Mindel-Riss, or even in the Giinz-
Mindel interval, but it is more commonly placed in the mild
phase intervening before the last (Wiirm) glaciation, this
latter corresponding with the cold Mousterian stage. At
least four subsequent oscillations of climate have been recog-
nised by Penck, the Achen, Biihl, Gschnitz and Daun, and
the correspondence of these with palaeolithic culture stages
may be seen in the following table^
Penck and Bruckner
Obermaier and others Rutot
oscillations \ ^^^^^
lAzilian
Proto-Neolithic
Azilian
Magdalenian
■ Neolithic
-Magdalejiiaji
1
Solutrian and
Aurignacian
IV.
Wiirm. 4th Glacial
Mousterian
Lower Mousterian
and Acheulean
Lower Magda-
lenian
Riss-Wiirm. yd. Inter-
Solutrian and
Chellean
Upper Mousterian
glacial
Aurignacian
WarmMousterian
Ill
Riss. 3rd Glacial
Cold Mousterian
Lower Acheulean
Chellean
Mindel-Riss. 2nd In-
Acheulean
Mauer jaw
Strepyan
terglacial
Chellean
Pre-Pailaeolithic
Mesvinian-
Mafflian
II.
MindeL 2nd Glacial ~\
\
Giinz-Mindel, ist In-
terglacial
- No artefacts
- No artefacts
I.
Giinz. 1st Glacial 1
,
James Geikie*, under the heading, " Reliable and Un-
reliable estimates of geological time," points out that the
absolute duration of the Pleistocene cannot be determined,
but such investigations as those of Penck " enable us to form
> Die Alpen in Eiszeitalter, 1901-9. See also '"Alter des Menschenge-
scWechts," Zeit.f. Eth. XL. i,go8.
2 See W. J. SoUas, Ancient Hunters, 1915, p. 561.
^ H. Obermaier, Der Mensch der Vorzeit, 1911-2, p. 332.
* The Antiquity of Man in Europe, 1914, p. 301.
i] General Considerations 15
some conception of the time involved," He accepts as a
rough approximation Penck's opinion that "the Glacial period
with all its climatic changes may have extended over half a
million years, and as the Chellean stage dates back to at least
the middle of the period, this would give somewhere between
250,000 and 500,000 years for the antiquity of man in Europe.
But if, as recent discoveries would seem to indicate, man was
an occupant of our Continent during the First Interglacial
epoch, if not in still earlier times, we may be compelled
greatly to increase our estimate of his antiquity" (p. 303).
W. J. Sollas, on the other hand, is content with a far more
contracted measure. Basing his calculations mainly on the
investigations of de Geer, he concludes that the interval that
separates our time from the beginning of the end of the last
glacial episode is 1 7,000 years. He places the Azilian age at
5500 B.C., the middle of the Magdalenian age somewhere
about 8000 B.C., Mousterian 15,000 B.C., and the close of the
Chellean 25,000 b.c.^
But when all the changes in climate are taken into con-
sideration, the periods of elevation and depression of the
land, the transformations of the animals, the evolution of
man, the gradual stages of advance in human culture, the de-
velopment of the races of mankind, and their distribution over
the surface of the globe, this estimate is regarded by many
as insufficient. Allen Sturge claims " scores of thousands of
years " for the neolithic period alone^ and Sir W. Turner
points out the very remote times to which the appearance of
neolithic man must be assigned in Scotland. After showing
that there is undoubted evidence of the presence of man in
North Britain during the formation of the Carse clays, this
careful observer explains that the Carse cliffs, now in places
45 to 50 feet above the present sea-level, formed the bed of
an estuary or arm of the sea, which in post-glacial times
extended almost, if not quite across the land from east to
west, thus separating the region south of the Forth from
North Britain. He even suggests, after the separation of
Britain from the Continent in earlier times, another land
connection, a " Neolithic land-bridge " by which the men of
the New Stone Age may have reached Scotland when the
1 Ancient Hunters, 1915, p. 567.
2 Proc. Prehist. Soc. E. Anglia, i. ^911,, p. ^Q.
1 6 . Man: Past and Present [ch.
upheaved lOO-foot terrace was still clothed with the great
forest growths that have since disappeared^
One begins to ask, Are even 100,000 years sufficient for
such oscillations of the surface, upheaval of marine beds,
appearance of great estuaries, renewed connection of Britain
with the Continent by a "Neolithic land-bridge"? In the
Falkirk district neolithic kitchen-middens occur on, or at the
base of, the bluffs which overlook the Carse lands, that is, the
old sea-coast. In the Carse of Cowrie also a dug-out canoe
was found at the very base of the deposits, and immediately
above the buried forest-bed of the Tay Valley^
That the neolithic period was also of long duration even
in Scandinavia has been made evident by Carl Wibling, who
calculates that the geological changes on the south-east coast
of Sweden (Province of Bleking), since its first occupation
by the men of the New Stone Age, must have required a
period of "at least 10,000 years^"
Still more startling are the results of the protracted re-
searches carried on by J. Niiesch at the now famous station
of Schweizersbild, near Schaffhausen in Switzerland^ This
station was apparently in the continuous occupation of man
during both Stone Ages, and here have been collected as
many as 14,000 objects belonging to the first, and over 6000
referred to the second period. Although the early settlement
was only post-glacial, a point about which there is no room
for doubt, L. Laloy^ has estimated " the absolute duration of
both epochs together at from 24,000 to 29,000 years." We
may, therefore, ask. If a comparatively recent post-glacial
station in Switzerland is about 29,000 years old, how old may
a pre- or inter-glacial station be in Gaul or Britain ?
From all this we see how fully justified is J. W. Powell's
remark that the natural history of early man becomes more
The early ^"^ "^^''^ ^ geological, and not merely an ethno-
Historyof logical problem ^ We also begin to understand
to ^a1 Problem ^^^ '^ ^^ ^^^' ^^^^"^ ^"^ existence of some five
ogica ro em. ^^^^^ millenniums, the first specialised human
1 Discourse at the R. Institute, London, Nature, Jan. 6 and 13, 1898.
2 Nature, 1898, p. 235.
5 Tidenfor Blekingsjforsta bebyggande, Karlskrona, 1895, p. 5.
* "Das Schweizersbild, eine Niederlassung aus palaeolithischer und neo-
hthischer Zeit," in Nouveaux M^moires Soc. Helv'etique des Sciences Natu-
relles, Vol. xxxv. Zurich, 1896. This is described by James Geikie, The Antiquity
of Man m Europe, 1914, pp. 85-99.
5 VAnthropologie, 1897, p. 350. « Forum, Feb. 1898,
i] General Considerations ly
varieties have diverged greatly from the original types, which
have thus become almost " ideal quantities," the subjects
rather of palaeontological than of strictly anthropological
studies.
And here another consideration of great moment presents
itself. During these long ages some of the groups — most
African negroes south of the equator, most
Oceanic negroes (Negritoes and Papuans), and varietiesthe
Australian and American aborigines — have re- Outcome of
mained in their original habitats ever since what t!?^"! s^^^""^'
, 11 1 1 r 1 r 1 1 Environments.
may be called the first settlement of the earth
by man. Others again, the more restless or enterprising
peoples, such as the Mongols, Manchus, Turks, Ugro-Finns,
Arabs, and most Europeans, have no doubt moved about
somewhat freely ; but these later migrations, whether hostile
or peaceable, have for the most part been confined to regions
presenting the same or like physical and climatic conditions.
Wherever different climatic zones have been invaded, the
intruders have failed to secure a permanent footing, either
perishing outright, or disappearing by absorption or more or
less complete assimilation to the aboriginal elements. Such
are some " black Arabs " in Egyptian Sudan, other Semites
and Hamites in Abyssinia and West Sudan (Himyarites,
Fulahs and others), Finns and Turks in Hungary and the
Balkan Peninsula (Magyars, Bulgars, Osmanli), Portuguese
and Netherlanders in Malaysia, English in tropical or sub-
tropical lands, such as India, where Eurasian half-breeds alone
are capable of founding family groups.
The human varieties are thus seen to be, like all other
zoological species, the outcome of their several environments.
They are what climate, soil, diet, pursuits and inherited
characters have made them, so that all sudden transitions are
usually followed by disastrous results \ "To urge the emi-
gration of women and children, or of any save those of the
most robust health, to the tropics, may not be to murder in
the first degree, but it should be classed, to put it mildly, as
incitement to it'." Acclimatisation may not be impossible
1 The party of Eskimo men and women brought back by Lieut. Peary from his
Arctic expedition in 1897 were unable to endure our temperate cUmate. Many
died of pneumonia, and the survivors were so enfeebled that all had to be restored
to their icy homes to save their lives. Even for the Algonquians of Labrador
a journey to the coast is a journey to the grave.
2 W. Z. Ripley, TAe Races 0/ Europe, 1900, p. 586.
1 8 Man: Past and Present [ch.
but in all extreme cases it can be effected only at great
sacrifice of life, and by slow processes, the most effective of
which is perhaps Natural Selection. By this means we may
indeed suppose the world to have been first peopled.
At the same time it should be remembered that we know
little of the climatic conditions at the time of the first migra-
tions, though it has been assumed that it was everywhere
much milder than at present. Consequently the different
zones of temperature' were less marked, and the passage from
one region to another more easily effected than in later times.
In a word the pleistocene precursors had far less difficulty in
adapting themselves to their new surroundings than modern
peoples have when they emigrate, for instance, from Southern
Europe to Brazil and Paraguay, or from the British Isles to
Rhodesia and Nyassaland.
What is true of man must be no less true of his works ;
from which it follows that racial and cultural zones correspond
Correspondence ^"^ "^^ "^^^" ^'^^^ ^°"^^ °f temperature, except
of Geographical SO far as the latter may be modified by altitude,
with Racial and marine influences, or other local conditions. A
ones. gj^jj(,g ^^ p^g|- ^jjj^ existing relations the world
over will show that such harmonies have at all times prevailed.
No doubt the overflow of the leading European peoples during
the last 400 years has brought about divers dislocations,
blurrings, and in places even total effacements of the old .
landmarks.
But, putting aside these disturbances, it will be found that
in the Eastern hemisphere the inter-tropical regions, hot, moist
and more favourable to vegetable than to animal vitality, are
usually occupied by savage, cultureless populations. Within
the same sphere are also comprised most of the extra-tropical
southern lands, all tapering towards the antarctic waters,
isolated, and otherwise unsuitable for areas of higher
specialisation.
Similarly the sub-tropical Asiatic peninsulas, the bleak
Tibetan tableland, the Pamir, and arid Mongolian steppes are
found mainly in possession of somewhat stationary com-
munities, which present every stage between sheer savagery
and civilisation.
In the same way the higher races and cultures are confined
to the more favoured north temperate zone, so that between
the parallels of 24° and 50° (but owing to local conditions
i] General Considerations 19
falling in the far East to 40° and under, and in the extreme
West rising to 55°) are situated nearly all the great centres,
past and present, of human activities — the Egyptian, Baby-
lonian, Minoan (Aegean), Hellenic, Etruscan, Roman, and
modern European. Almost the only exceptions are the
early civilisations (Himyaritic) of Yemen (Arabia Felix) and
Abyssinia, where the low latitude is neutralised by altitude
and a copious rainfall.
Thanks also to altitude, to marine influences, and the
contraction of the equatorial lands, the relations are almost
completely reversed in the New World. Here all the higher
developments took place, not in the temperate but in the
tropical zone, within which lay the seats of the Peruvian,
Chimu, Chibcha and Maya-Quiche cultures ; the Aztec
sphere alone ranged northwards a little beyond the Tropic
of Cancer.
Thus in both hemispheres the iso-cultural bands follow
the isothermal lines in all their deflections, and the human
varieties everywhere faithfully reflect the conditions of their
several environments.
CHAPTER II
THE METAL AGES— HISTORIC TlMES AND PEOPLES
Progress of Archaeological Studies — Sequence of the Metal Ages — The Copper
Age — Egypt, Elam, Babylonia, Europe— The Bronze Age — Egypt and Baby-
lonia, Western Europe, the Aegean^ Ireland — Chronology, of the Copper and
Bronze Ages — The Iron Age — ^Hallstatt, La T^ne — Man and his Works in
the Metal Ages — The Prehistoric Age in the West, and in China — Historic
Times^-Evolution of Writing Systems — Hieroglyphs and Cuneiforms — The
Alphabet^ — The Persian and other Cuneiform Scripts — The Mas-d'Azil
Markings — Alphabetiform Signs on Neolithic Monuments — Character and
Consequences of the. later historic Migrations — The Race merges in the
People— The distinguishing Characters of Peoples — Scheme of Classification.
If, as above seen, the study of human origins is largely
a geological problem, the investigation of the later develop-
Progress of ments, during the Metal Ages. and prehistoric
Archaeological times, belongs mainly to the field of Archaeology.
Studies. Hence it is that for the light which has in recent
years been thrown upon the obscure interval between the
Stone Ages and the strictly historic epoch, that is to say, the
period when in his continuous upward development man
gradually exchanged stone for the more serviceable metals,
we are indebted chiefly to the pioneer labours of such men
as Worsaae, Steenstrup, Forchhammer, Schliemann, Sayce,
Layard, Lepsius, Mariette, Maspero, Montelius, Brugsch,
Petrie, Peters, Haynes, Sir J. Evans, Sir A. J. Evans and
many others, all archaeologists first, and anthropologists only
in the second instance.
From the researches of these investigators it is now clear
that copper, bronze, and iron were successively in use in
Europe in the order named, so that the current
wXrAges expressions, " Copper," " Bronze," and " Iron "
Ages remain still justified. But it also appears
that overlappings, already beginning in late Neolithic times,
were everywhere so frequent that in many localities it is quite
impossible to draw any well-marked dividing lines between
the successive metal periods.
CH. ii] The Metal Ages 21
That iron came last, a fact already known by vague
tradition to the ancients S is beyond doubt, and it is no less
certain that bronze of various types intervened between copper
and iron. But much obscurity still surrounds the question of
copper, which occurs in so many graves of Neolithic and
Bronze times, that this metal has even been denied an inde-
pendent position in the sequence.
But we shall not be surprised that confusion should prevail
on this point, if we reflect that the metals, unlike stone, came
to remain. Once introduced they were soon found to be
indispensable to civilised man, so that in a sense the " Metal
Ages " still survive, and must last to the end of time. Hence
it was natural that copper should be found in prehistoric
graves associated, first with polished stone implements, and
then with bronze and iron, just as, since the arrival of the
English in Australia, spoons, clay pipes, penknives, pannikins,
and the like, are now found mingled with stone objects in the
graves of the aborigines.
But that there was a true Copper Age' prior to that of
Bronze, though possibly of not very long duration, except
of course in the New Worlds has been placed
beyond reasonable doubt by recent investiga- The Copper
tions. Considerable attention was devoted to the
subject by J. H. Gladstone, who finds that copper was worked
by the Egyptians in the Sinaitic Peninsula, that is, in the
famous mines of the Wadi Maghara, from the fourth to the
eighteenth dynasty, perhaps from 3000 to 1580 b.c* During
that epoch tools were made of pure copper in Egypt and
Syria, and by the Amorites in Palestine, often on the model
of their stone prototypes".
Elliot Smith" claims that " the full story of the coming of
' Thus Lucretius:
" Posterius ferri vis est aerisque reperta,
Sed prior aeris erat quam ferri cognitus usus."
^ J. D&helette points out that the term Copper "Age" is not justified for the
greater part of Europe, as it suggests a demarcation which does not exist and also
a more thorough chemical analysis of early metals than we possess. He prefers
the term 2ieas.o\\'0d\c(aeneus, copper, XMos, stone), coined by the Italians, to denote
the period of transition, dating, according to Montelius, from about 2500 B.C.
to igcxj B.C. Manuel d? ArcMologie, pr^historique, II. j, A^e du Bronze., ipio,
pp. 99-100, 105. ^' Eth., Chap. XIII.
* See G. Elliot Smith, The Ancient Egyptians, 191 1, pp. 97-8.
• Paper on " The Transition from Pure Copper to Bronze," etc., read at the
Meeting of the Brit. Assoc. Liverpool, i8g6.
" Loc. cit. p. 3. But cf. H. R. Hall, The Ancient History of the Near East, 1912,
pp. 33 and 90 n. I. '
22 Man: Past and Present , [ch.
copper, complete in every detail and circumstance, written in
a simple and convincing fashion that he who runs
^''*' may read," has been displayed in Egypt ever
since the year 1894, though the full significance' of the evi-
dence was not recognised until Reisner called attention to
the record of pre-dynastic graves in Upper Egypt when
superintending the excavations at Naga-ed-d^r in i9o8\
These excavations revealed the indigenous civilisation of the
ancient Egyptians and, according to Elliot Smith, dispose of
the idea hitherto held by most archaeologists that Egypt
owed her knowledge of metals to Babylonia or some other
Asiatic source, where copper, and possibly also bronze, may
be traced back to the fourth millennium B.C. There was
doubtless intercourse between the civilisations of Egypt and
Babylonia but " Reisner has revealed the complete absence
of any evidence to show or even to suggest that the language,
the mode of writing, the knowledge of copper... were im-
ported " (p. 34). Elliot Smith justly claims (p. 6) that in no
other country has a similarly complete history of the discovery
and the evolution of the working of copper been revealed, but
until equally exhaustive excavations have been undertaken on
contemporary or earlier sites in Sumer and Elam, the question
cannot be regarded as settled.
The work of J. de Morgan at Susa^ (1907-8) shows the
extreme antiquity of the Copper Age in ancient Elam, even if
p. his estimate of 5000 b.c. is regarded as a millen-
nium too early". At the base of the mound on
the natural soil, beneath 24 meters of archaeological layers,
were the remains of a town and a necropolis consisting
of about 1000 tombs. Those of the men contained copper
axes of primitive type ; those of the women, little vases of
paint, together with discs of polished copper to serve as
mirrors. At Fara, excavations by Koldewey in 1902, and by
Andrae and Noldeke in 1903 on the site of Shuruppak (the
. . home of the Babylonian Noah) in the valley of
the Lower Euphrates, revealed graves attributed
' G. A. Reisner, The Early Cemeteries of Naga^ed-dir (University of California
Publications), 1908,'and Report of the Archaeological Survey of Nubia, .1907-8.
2 "Campagnes de 1907-8," Comptes Rendus de PAcadimie des Inscriptions et
Belles-Lettres, 1908, p. 373.
3 Cf. J. Ddchelette, Manuel d' Archiologie prMstorique, n. i. Age du Bronze,
1910, pp. 53-4.
n] The Metal Ages 23
to the prehistoric Sumerians, containing copper spear heads,
axes and drinking vessels\
In Europe, North Italy, Hungary and Ireland" may lay
claim to a Copper Age, but there is very little evidence of
such a stage in Britain. To this period also
may be attributed the nest or cache of pure' '"^*'^*'
copper ingots found at Tourc'h, west of the Aven Valley,
Finisterre, described by M. de Villiers du Terrage, and com-
prising 23 pieces, with a total weight of nearly 50 lbs.' These
objects, which belong to "the transitional period when copper
was used at first concurrently with polished stone, and then
disappeared as bronze came into more general use*," came
probably from Hungary, at that time apparently the chief
source of this metal for most parts of Europe. Of over 200
copper objects described by Mathaeus Much " nearly all were
of Hungarian or South German provenance, five only being
accredited to Britain and eight to France.
The study of this subject has been greatly advanced by
J. Hampel, who holds on solid grounds that in some regions,
especially Hungary, copper played a dominant part for many
centuries, and is undoubtedly the characteristic metal of a
distinct culture. His conclusions are based on the study of*
about 500 copper objects found in Hungary and preserved in
the Buda Pesth collections. Reviewing all the facts attesting
a Copper Age in Central Europe, Egypt, Italy, Cyprus, Troy,
Scandinavia, North Asia, and other lands, he concludes that
a Copper Age may have sprung up independently wherever
the ore was found, as in the Ural and Altai Mountains, Italy,
Spain, Britain, Cyprus, Sinai ; such culture being generally
indigenous, and giving evidence of more or less characteristic
local features*. In fact we know for certain that such an
independent Copper Age was developed not only in the
region of the Great Lakes of North America, but also
amongst the Bantu peoples of Katanga and other parts of
Central Africa. Copper is not an alloy like bronze, but a
^ Cf. L. W. King, A History of Sumer and Akkad, 1910, p. 26.
''■ G. Coffey, The Bronze Age in Ireland, 191 3, p. 6.
3 UAnthropologie, 1896, p. 526 sq. This antiquary aptly remarks that "I'ex-
pression 4ge de cuivre a una signification bien precise comme s'appliquant J. la
partie de la p^riode de la pierre polie oil les mdtaux font leur apparition."
* UAnthropologie, 1896, p. 526 sq.
'In Die Kupferzeit in Europa, 1886.
8 " Neuere Studien iiber die Kupferzeit," in Zeitsckr../. Eth. 1896, No. 2.
24 Man : Past and Present [CH.
soft, easily-worked metal occurring in large quantities and in
a tolerably pure state near the surface in many parts of the
world. The wonder is, not that it should have been found
and worked at a somewhat remote epoch in several different
centres, but that its use should have been so soon superseded
in so many places by the bronze alloys.
From copper to bronze, however, the passage was slow
and progressive, the proper proportion of tin, which was
probably preceded in some places by an alloy of
The Bronze antimony, having been apparently arrived at by
repeated experiments often carried out with no
little skill by those prehistoric metallurgists.
As suggested by Bibra in 1869, the ores of different
metals would appear to have been at first smelted together
empirically, and the process continued until satisfactory results
were obtained. Hence the extraordinary number of metals,
of which percentages are found in some of the earlier speci-
mens, such as those of the Elbing Museum, which on analysis
yielded tin, lead, silver, iron, antimony, arsenic, sulphur, nickel,
cobalt, and zinc in varying quantities^
Some bronzes from the pyramid of Medum analysed by
J. H. Gladstone^ yielded the high percentage of 9T of tin,
from which we must infer, not only that bronze, but bronze of
the finest quality, was already known to the Egyptians of the
fourth dynasty, i.e. 2840 B.C. The statuette of Gudea of
Lagash (2500 B.C.) claimed as the earliest example of bronze
in Babylonia is now known to be pure copper, and though
objects from Tello (Lagash) of earlier date con-
^^\^^t tain a mixture of tin, zinc, arsenic and other
Babylonia. • .'.'...- „,,
alloys, the proportion is insignincant. 1 he
question of priority must, however, be left open until the
relative chronology of Egypt and Babylonia is finally settled,
and this is still a much disputed point^ Neither would all
the difficulties with regard to the origin of bronze be cleared
up should Egypt or Babylonia establish her claim to possess
the earliest example of the metal, for neither country appears
1 Otto Helm, "Chemische Untersuchungen vorgeschichtlicher Bronzen,'' in
Zeitschr.f. Eth. 1897, No. 2. This authority agrees with Hampel's view that further
research will confirm the suggestion that in Transylvania (Hungary) *'eine Kupfer-
Antimonmischung vorangegangen, welche zugleich die Bronzekultur vorberei-
tete" {ib. p. 128).
2 Proc. Soc. Bib. Archaeol. 1892, pp. 223-6.
3 For the chronology of the Copper and Bronze Ages see p. 27.
ii] The Metal Ages 25
to possess any tin. The nearest deposit known in ancient
times would seem to be that of Drangiana, mentioned by
Strabo, identified with modern Khorassan'.
Strabo and other classical writers also mention the occur-
rence of tin in the west, in Spain, Portugal and the Cassiterides
or tin islands, whose identity has given rise to so
much speculation", but "though in after times Europe"
Egypt drew her tin from Europe it would be
bold indeed to suppose that she did so [in 3000 b.c.J and still
bolder to maintain that she learned from northern people how
to make the alloy called bronze'." Apart from the indigenous
Egyptian origin maintained by Elliot Smith (above) the
hypothesis offering fewest difficulties is that the earliest
bronze is to be traced to the region of Elam, and that the
knowledge spread from S. Chaldaea (Elam-Sumer) to S.
Egypt in the third millennium B-C*
There seems to be little doubt that the Aegean was the
centre of dispersal for the new metals throughout the Medi-
terranean area, and copper ingots have been The'Aeeean
found at various points of the Mediterranean,
marked with Cretan signs ^ Bronze was known in Crete
before 2000 b.c. for a bronze dagger and spear head were
found at H agios Onuphrios, near Phaistos, with seals re-
sembling those of the sixth to eleventh dynasties".
From the eastern Mediterranean the knowledge spread
during the second millennium along the ordinary trade routes
which had long been in use. The mineral ores of Spain were
exploited in pre-Mycenean times and probably contributed in
no small measure to the industrial development of southern
Europe. From tribe to tribe, along the Atlantic coasts the
traffic in minerals reached the British Isles, where the rich
ores were discovered which, in their turn, supplied the markets
of the north, the west and the south.
Even Ireland was not left untouched by Aegean influence,
1 Copper and tin are found together in abundance in Southern China, but this
is archaeologically speaking an unknown land; "to search for the birth-place of
■ jDronze in China is therefore barren of positive results," British Museum Guide to
the Antiquities of the Bronze Age, 1904, p. to.
2 T. Rice Holmes, Ancient Britain, 1907, pp. 483-498.
3 British Museum Guide to the Antiquities of the Bronze Age, 1904, p. 10.
* J. de Morgan, Les Premikres Civilisations, 1909, pp. 169, 337 ff.
6 J. Dichelette, Manuel d' ArcUologie prihistorique, II. i. Age du Bronze, 1910,
pp. 98 and 397 ff.
» J. D6chelette, loc. cit. p. 63 n.
26 Man : Past and Present [ch.
which reached it, according to G. Cofifey', by way of the
Danube and the Elbe, and thence by way of
Ireland. Scandinavia, though this is a matter on which
there is much difference of opinion. Ireland's richness in
gold during the Bronze Age made her "a kind of El Dorado
of the western world," and the discovery of a gold tore found
by Schliemann in the royal treasury in the second city of
Troy raises the question as to whether the model of the tore
was imported into Ireland from the south', or whether (which
J. D^chelette' regards as less probable) there was already an
exportation of Irish gold to the eastern Mediterranean in pre-
Mycenean times.
Of recent years great strides have been made towards
the establishment of a definite chronology linking the historic
Chronology of with the prehistoric periods in the Aegean, in
the Copper and Egypt and in Babylonia, and as the estimates
Bronze Ages. ^f y^rious authorities differ sometimes by a
thousand years or so, the subjoined table will be of use to
indicate the chronological schemes most commonly followed ;
the dates are in all cases merely approximate.
It has often been pointed out that there is no reason why
iron should not have been the earliest metal to be used by
Th A '"^"' ^^ ^""^^ ^"^^ more abundant and more
ge. gg^gjjy j-gduced than any others, and are worked
by peoples in a low grade of culture at the present day".
Iron may have been known in Egypt almost as early as
bronze, for a piece in the British Museum is attributed to the
fourth dynasty, and some beads of manufactured iron were
found in a pre-dynastic grave at El Gerzeh'. But these and
other less well authenticated occurrences of iron are rare, and
the metal was not common in Egypt before the middle of the
second millennium. By the end of the second millennium the
knowledge had spread throughout the eastern Mediterranean',
and towards 900 at latest iron was in common use in Italy
and Central Europe.
1 G. Coffey, The Bronze Age in Ireland, I913) PP- v, 78.
^ J. Ddchelette, Manuel d'Archdologie ^rihistorique, 11. l,Agedu Bronze, 1910,
P- 3SS »■
' Guide to the Antiquities of the Early Iron Age (British Museum), 1905, p. 2.
* Wainwright, "Pre-dynastic iron beads in Egypt," Man, 191 1, p. 177. See'
also H. R. Hall, "Note on the early use of iron in Egypt," Man, 1903, p. 147.
^ W. Belck attributes the introduction of iron into Crete in 1500 B.C. to the
Phoenicians, whom he derives from the neighbourhood of the Persian Gulf. He
suggests that these traders were already acquainted with the metal in S. Arabia in
"]
The Metal Ages
27
Chronological Table.
Egypt 1
33CXD Dynasty I
3200
3100
3000
2900
28ooDyn.III,IV
2700
2600 Dyn. V
2500 Dyn. VI
Babylonia 2
Aegean*
Greece*
Bronze Age in
Europe ° ,
2400
iyx> Dyn.
22CX)
2100 Dyn,
2000 Dyn.
1900
i8cx)
1700 Dyn,
1600 Dyn.
1500 Dyn,
1400
1300 Dyn,
1200 Dyn,
1 100
1000 Dyn,
900 Dyn.
IX
XI
XII
DynastyofOpis PEarlyMinoanI ?Pre-Mycenean
Dyn. of Kish
Dyn. of Erech
Dyn. of Akkado
andDyn.ofErech
Gutian Domina- Early Minoan 1 1
tion
Dyn. of Ur
Dyn. of I sin MiddleMinoanI
Mid. Minoan II •
ist Dyn. Babylon Mycenean I
2nd Dyn. Mid. Minoan III
XIII
XV
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
3rd Dyn.
4th Dyn.
Sth to 7th Dyn.
8th Dyn.
Late Minoan I
Late Minoan II Mycenean II
Late Minoan III
Homeric Age
Close of Bronze Age'
Period I. Eneoli-
thic (implements
of stone, copper
and bronze, poor
in tin)
Period II
Period III
Period IV
Hallstatt
the fourth millennium, and that it was through them that a piece found its way
into Egypt in the fourth dynasty. " Die Erfinder des Eisentechnik," Zeitschrift f.
Ethnologie, 1910. See also F. Stuhlmann, Handwerk und Industrie in Ostafrika,
1910, p. 49 flf., who on cultural grounds derives the knowledge of iron in Africa
from an Asiatic source.
1 E. Meyer, "Aegyptische Chronologic,'' Abh. Berl. Akad. 1904, and "Nach-
trage," ib. 1907. This chronology has been adopted by the Berlin school and
others, but is unsatisfactory in blowing insufficient time for Dynasties XII to
XVIII, which are known to contain 100 to 200 rulers. Flinders Petrie therefore
adds another Sothic period (1461 years, calculated from Sothis or Sirius), thus
throwing the earlier dynasties a millennium or two further back. Dynasty I,
according to this computation starts in 5546 B.C. and Dynasty XII at 3779.
H. R. Hall, The Ancient History of the Near East, 1912, p. 23.
2 L. W. King, The History of Sumer and Akkad, 1910, and " Babylonia,"
Hutchinson's History of the Nations, 1914.
5 C. H. Hawes and H. Boyd Hawes, Crete the Forerunner of Greece, 1909.
* ].'D€cheye:ne, Manuel d'ArchMogie prMstorigue, 11. \,Agedu Bronze, 1910,
p. 61.
5 J. D^chelette, loc. cit. p. 105 ff. based on the work of O. Montelius and
P. Reinecke.
^ The Dynasty of Akkad is often dated a millennium earlier, relying on the
statement of Nabonidus (556-540 B.C.) that Nar4m-Sin (the traditional son of
Sargon of Akkad) reigned 3200 years before him ; but this statement is now known
to be greatly exaggerated. See the section on chronology in the Art. " Babylonia,"
in Ency. Brit. 1910.
7 Guide to the Antiquities of the Early Iron Age (British Museum), 1905, p: i.
28 Man: Past and Present [ch.
The introduction of iron into Italy has often been attri-
buted to the Etruscans, who were thought to have brought
the knowledge from Lydia. But the most abundant remains
of the Early Iron Age are found not in Tuscany, but along
the coasts of the Adriatic^ showing that iron followed the
well-known route of the amber trade, thus reaching Central
Europe and Hallstatt (which has given its name to the Early
Iron Age), where alone in Europe the gradual transition
from the use of bronze to that of iron has been clearly traced.
W. Ridgeway^ believes that the use of iron was first dis-
covered in the Hallstatt area and that thence it spread to
Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, the Aegean area,
and Egypt rather than that the culture drift was in the
opposite direction. There is no difference of opinion how-
ever as to the importance of this Central European area
which contained the most famous iron mines of antiquity.
H tatt Hallstatt culture extended from the Iberian
peninsula in the west to Hungary in the east,
but scarcely reached Scandinavia, North Germany, Armorica
or the British Isles where the Bronze Age may be said to
have lasted down to about 500 B.C. Over such a vast domain
the culture was not everywhere of a uniform type and
Hoernes" recognises four geographical divisions distinguished
mainly by pottery and fibulae, and provisionally classified as
lUyrian in the South West, or Adriatic region, in touch with
Greece and Italy ; Celtic in the Central or Danubian area ;
with an off-shoot in Western Germany, Northern Switzerland
and Eastern France ; and Germanic in parts of Germany,
Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Posen.
The Hallstatt period ends, roughly, at 500 B.C., and the
Later Iron Age takes its name from the settlement of La
LaTfene Tene, in a bay of the Lake of Neuchdtel in
Switzerland. This culture, while owing much
to that of Hallstatt, and much also to foreign sources, poS'
sesses a distinct individuality, and though soon overpowered
on the Continent by Roman influence, attained a remarkable
brilliance in the Late Celtic period in the British Isles.
1 Cf. J. TUchBieVee, Manuel d'ArcMologie pr^historigue, 11. 1, Premier Age du
Per, 1913, PP- f46, 562-3-
^ The Early Age of Greece, 1900, pp. 594^630.
3 " Die Hallstattperiode," Ass. frangaise p. Vav. des sciences, 1905, p. 278, and
Kultur der Orzeiif ill. Eisen^eit, 1912, p. 54.
il] The Metal Ages 29
That the peoples of the Metal Ages were physically well
developed, and in a great part of Europe and Asia already of
Aryan speech, there can be no reasonable doubt, ^^n and his
A skull of the early Hallstatt period, from a Works in the
grave near Wildenroth, Upper Bavaria, is de- Metal Ages,
scribed by Virchow as long-headed, with a cranial capacity of
no less than 1585 cc, strongly developed occiput, very high
and narrow face and nose, and in every respect a superb
specimen of the regular-featured, long-headed North Eu-
ropean'. But owing to the prevalence of cremation the
evidence of race is inadequate. The Hallstatt population
was undoubtedly mixed, and at Glasinatz in Bosnia, another
site of Hallstatt civilisation, about a quarter of the skulls
examined were brachycephalicl
Their works, found in great abundance in the graves,
especially of the Bronze and Iron periods, but a detailed
account of which belongs to the province of archaeology,
interest us in many ways. The painted earthenware vases
and incised metal-ware of all kinds enable the student to
follow the progress of the arts of design and ornamentation
in their upward development from the first tentative efforts
of the prehistoric artist at pleasing effects. Human and
animal figures, though rarely depicted, occasionally afford a
curious insight into the customs and fashions of the times.
On a clay vessel, found in 1896 at Lahse in Posen, is figured
a regular hunting scene, where we see men mounted pn
horseback, or else on foot, armed with bow and arrow, pur-
suing the quarry (nobly-antlered stags), and returning to the
penthouse after the chase'. The drawing is extremely primi-
tive, but on that account all the more instructive, showing in
connection with analogous representations on contemporary
objects, how in prehistoric art such figures tend to become
conventionalised and purely ornamental, as in similar designs
on the vases and textiles from the Ancon Necropolis, Peru.
" Most ornaments of primitive peoples, although to our eye
they may seem merely geometrical and freely-invented
designs, are in reality nothing more than degraded animal
and human figures'."
> "Ein Schadel aus der alteren Hallstattzeit," in Verhandl. Berlin. Ges. f.
Anthrop. i8g6, pp. 243-6. „..,,,
2 Guide to the Antiquities of the Early Iron Age (British Museum), 1905, p. 8.
3 Hans Seger, " FigUfliche Darstellungen auf schlesischen Grabgefassen dfer
Hallstattzeit," Globus, Nov. 20, 1897. * Ibid. p. 297.
30 Man: Past and Present [ch.
This may perhaps be the reason why so. many of the
drawings of the metal period appear so inferior to those of
the cave-dwellers and of the present Bushmen. They are
often mere conventionalised reductions of pictorial prototypes,
comparable, for instance, to the characters of our alphabets,
which are known to be degraded forms of earlier pictographs.
Of the so-called "Prehistoric Age" it is obvious that no
strict definition can be given. It comprises in a general way
The Prehistoric ^'^^^ vague period prior to all written records.
Age in the dim memories of which — popular myths, folk-
West, lore, demi-gods\ eponymous heroes^ traditions
of real events" — lingered on far into historic times, and
supplied ready to hand the copious materials afterwards
worked up by the early poets, founders of new religions, and
later legislators.
That letters themselves, although not brought into general
use, had already been invented, is evident from the mere fact
that all memory of their introduction beyond the vaguest
traditions had died out before the dawn of history. The
works of man, while in themselves necessarily continuous,
stretched back to such an inconceivably remote past, that
even the great landmarks in the evolution of human progress
had long been forgotten by later generations.
And so it was everywhere, in the New World as in the
Old, amongst Eastern as amongst Western Peoples. In the
.. ^^. Chinese records the "Agre of the Five Em-
and in China. » r i i • i
perors — five, though nme are named— answers
somewhat to our prehistoric epoch. It had its eponymous
hero, Fu Hi, reputed founder of the empire, who invented
nets and snares for fishing and hunting, and taught his people
how to rear domestic animals. To him also is ascribed the
institution of marriage, and in his time Tsong Chi is supposed
to have invented the Chinese characters, symbols, not of
sounds, but of objects and ideas.
' Homer's fifuBeav yh/os dvbpav, II. XII. 23, if the passage is genuine.
2 Such as the Greek Atuireas, the "First Man," invented in comparatively
recent times, as shown by the intrusive d'va. avhpis for the earlier avepes, "men."
Andreas was of course a Greek, sprung in fact from the river Peneus and the first
inhabitant of the Orchomenian plain (Pausanias, ix. 34, 5).
^ For instance, the flooding of the Thessalian plain, afterwards drained by the
Peneus and repeopled by the inhabitants of the surrounding mountains (rocks,
stones), whence the myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha, who' are told by the oracle to
repeople the world by throwing behind them the "bones of their grandmother,"
that is, the " stones " of mother Earth.
ii] Historic Times and Peoples 31
Then came other benevolent rulers, who taught the people
agriculture, established markets for the sale of farm produce,
discovered the medicinal properties of plants, wrote treatises
on diseases and their remedies, studied astrology and as-
tronomy, and appointed " the Five Observers of the heavenly
bodies."
But this epoch had been preceded by the "Age of the
Three [six] Rulers," when people lived in caves, ate wild
fruits and uncooked food, drank the blood of animals and
wore the skins of wild beasts (our Old Stone Age). Later
they grew less rude, learned to obtain fire by friction, and
built themselves habitations of wood or foliage (our Early
Neolithic Age). Thus is everywhere revealed the back-
ground of' sheer savagery, which lies behind all human
culture, while the "Golden Age" of the poets fades with the
" Hesperides " and Plato's " Atlantis " into the region of the
fabulous.
Little need here be said of strictly historic times, the most
characteristic feature of which is perhaps the general use of
letters. By means of this most fruitful of
, ■ ■' ■ .1 . ■, . Histonc Tunes,
human mventions, everythmg worth preservmg
was perpetuated, and thus all useful knowledge tended to
become accumulative. It is no longer possible to say when
or where the miracle was wrought by which the apparently
multifarious sounds of fully-developed languages were ex-
haustively analysed and effectively expressed by a score or
so of arbitrary signs. But a comparative study of the various
writing-systems in use in different parts of the world has
revealed the process by which the transition was gradually
brought about from rude pictorial representations of objects
to purely phonetical symbols.
As is clearly shown by the " winter counts " of the North
American aborigines, and by the prehistoric rock carvings in
Upper Egypt, the first step was a pictograph, Evolution of
the actual figure, say, of a man, standing for a writing
given man, and then for any man or human Systems,
being. Then this figure, more or less reduced or conven-
tionalised, served to indicate not only the term man, but the
full sound man, as in the word manifest, and in the modern
rebus. At this stage it becomes 2l phonogram, ox phonoglyph,
which, when further reduced beyond all recognition of its
original form, may stand for the syllable ma -as, in ma-ny.
32 Man : Past and Present [ch.
without any further reference either to the idea or the sound
man. The phonogram has now become the symbol of a
monosyllable, which is normally made up of two elements, a
consonant and a vowel, as in the Devanagari, and other
syllabic systems.
Lastly, by dropping the second or vowel element the
same symbol, further modified or not, becomes a ktter repre-
senting the sound m, that is, one of the few ultimate elements
of articulate speech. A more or less complete set of such
characters, thus worn down in form and meaning, will then
be available for indicating more or less completely all the
phonetic elements of any given language. It will be a true
alphabet, the wonderful nature of which may be inferred from
the fact that only two, or possibly three, such alphabetic
systems are known with absolute certainty to have ever been
independently evolved by human ingenuity^ From the above
exposition we see how inevitably the Phoenician parent of
neafly all late alphabets expressed at first the consonantal
sounds only, so that the vowels or vowel marks are in all
cases later developments, as in Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Greek,
the Italic group, and the Runes.
In primitive systems, such as the Egyptian, Sumerian,
Chinese, Maya-Quiche and Mexican, one or more of the
various transitional steps may be developed and used simul-
taneously, with a constant tendeticy to advance on the lines
above indicated, . by gradual substitution of the later for the
Hieroglyphs earlier stages. A comparison of the Sumerian
and Cuiiei- Cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphic systems
forms. brings out some curious results. Thus at an
extremely remote epoch, some millenniums ago, the Sumerians
had already got rid of the pictorial, and to a great extent of
the ideographic, but had barely reached the alphabetic phase.
Consequently their cuneiform groups, although possessing
phonetic value, mainly express full syllables, scarcely ever
letters, and rarely complete words. Ideographs had given
place first to phonograms and then to mere syllables,
1 Such instances as George Guest's Cherokee system, and the crude attempt of
a Vei (West Sudanese) Negro, if genuine, are not here in question, as both had the
English alphabet to work upon. A like remark applies to the old Irish and Welsh
Ogharn, which are more curious than instructive, the characters, mostly mere
groups of straight strokes, being obvious substitutes for the corresponding letters of
the Roman alphabet, hence comparable to the cryptographic systems of
Wheatstone and others.
ii] Historic Times and Peoples 33
"complex syllables in which several consonants may be
distinguished, or simple syllables composed of only one con-
sonant and one vowel or vice versa^."
The Egyptians, on the other hand, carried the system
right through the whole gamut from pictures to letters, but
retained all the intermediate phases, the initial tending to fall
away, the final to expand, while the bulk of the hieroglyphs
represented in various degrees the several transitional states.
In many cases they "had kept only one part of the syllable,
namely a mute consonant ; they detached, for instance, the
final u from bu and pu, and gave only the values b and p to
the human leg J and to the mat i . The peoples of the
Euphrates stopped half way, and admitted actual letters for
the vowel sounds a, i and ti only'."
In the process of evolution, metaphor and analogy of
course played a large part, as in the evolution of language
itself. Thus a lion might stand both for the animal and for
courage, and so on. The first essays in phonetics took some-
what the form of a modern rebus, thus : O = khau = sieve,
i =pu = mat ; <=» = ru = mouth, whence O g = kho-pi-ru = to
be, where the sounds and not the meaning of the several
components are alone attended to'.
By analogous processes was formed a true alphabet, in
which, however, each of the phonetic elements was repre-
sented at first by several different characters . », i^ ^ *.
derived from several different words having the
same initial syllable. Here was, therefore, an embarras de
richesses, which could be got rid of only by a judicious process
of elimination, that is, by discarding all like-sounding symbols
but one for the same sound. When this final process of
reduction was completed by the scribes, in other words, when
all the phonetic signs were rejected except 23, i.e. one for
each of the 23 phonetic elements, the Phoenician alphabet as
we now have it was completed. Such may be taken as the real
origin of this system, whether the scribes in question were
Babylonians, Egyptians, Minaeans, or Europeans, that is,
whether the Phoenician alphabet had a cuneiform, a hiero-
glyphic, a South Arabian, a Cretan (Aegean), Ligurian or
Iberian origin, for all these and perhaps other peoples have
' Maspero, The Dawn of Civilisation, 1898, p. 728.
2 Ibid. 3 jind. p. 233.
34 Man : Past and Present [ch.
been credited with the invention. The time is not yet ripe
for deciding between these rival claimants \
But whatever be the source of the Phoenician, that of
the Persian system current under the Achaemenides is clear
_. . enough. It is a true alphabet of 37 characters,
and other derived by some selective process directly from
Cuneiform the Babylonian cuneiforms, without any attempt
Scnpts. ^j. ^ modification of their shapes. Hence
although simple compared with its prototype, it is clumsy
enough compared with the Phoenician script, several of the
letters requiring groups of as many as four or even five
"wedges" for their expression. None of the other cunei'
form systems also derived from the Sumerian (the Assyrian,
Elamite, Vannic, Medic) appear to have reached the pure
alphabetic state, all being still encumbered with numerous
complex syllabic characters. The subjoined table, for which
I have to thank T. G. Pinches, will help to show the genesis
of the cuneiform combinations from the earliest known picto-
graphs. These pictographs themselves are already reduced
to the merest outlines of the original pictorial representations.
But no earlier forms, showing the gradual transition from the
primitive picture writing to the degraded pictographs here
given, have yet come to light".
Here it may be asked. What is to be thought of the
already-mentioned pebble-markings from the Mas-d'Azil
Cave at the close of the Old Stone Agre ? If
The Mas d'Azil i i i • i
Markings ^^^ ^''^ truly phonetic, then we must suppose
that palaeolithic man not only invented an
alphabetic writing system, but did this right off by intuition,
as it were, without any previous knowledge of letters. At
least no one will suggest that the Dordogne cave-dwellers-
were already in possession of pictographic or other crude
systems, from which the Mas-d'Azil "script" might have
been slowly evolved. Yet E. Piette, who groups these
pebbles, painted with peroxide of iron, in the four categories
of numerals, symbols, pictographs, and alphabetical characters,
states, in reference to these last, that 13 out of 23 Phoenician
characters were equally Azilian graphic signs. He ' even
suggests that there may be an approach to an inscription in
1 See P. Giles, Art. "Alphabet," Ency. Brit. igio.
2 See A. J. Booth, The Discovery and Decipherment of the Trilingual Cuneiform
Inscriptions, \tyy2.
n]
Historic Times and Peoples
35
pne group, where, however, the mark indicating a stop
imphes a script running Semitic-fashion from right to left,
whereas the letters themselves seem to face the other way".
G. G. MacCurdj^', who accepts the evidence for the existence
Evolution of the Sumerian Cuneiforms.
lOOO B.C.
and later.
About 2500
to 1500 B.C.
^<[<
Oldest known line forms,
3000 B.C. and earlier.
N A
%
=0
»»
"bird."
"sheep'' (pro-
bably a sheep-
fold).
"ox."
"togo,"
"to stand."
— "hand."
— "fish.'^
"reed."
^
#
"reed."
'corn'' ("ear
of com ").
%
"god,"
" heaven. "
" constellation,"
"star."
of writing in Azilian, if not in Magdalenian times, notes the
close similarity between palaeolithic signs and Phoenician,
ancient Greek and Cypriote letters. But J. D6chelette^
1 LAnthr. xv. 1904, p. 164.
2 Recent Discoveries bearing on the Antiquity of Man in Europe (Smithsonian
Report for 1909), 1910, p. 566 ff.
3 Manuel d! ArMologie prdhistorique, i. 1908.
36 Man: Past and Present [ch.
reviewing (pp. 234, 236) the arguments against Piette's claims,
points out in conclusion (p. 320) the impossibility of admitting
that the population of Gaul could Suddenly lose so beneficial
a discovery as that of writing. Yet thousands of years elapse
before the earliest appearance of epigraphic monuments.
A possible connection has been suggested by Sergi
between the Mas-d'Azil signs and the markings that have
y been discovered on the megalithic monuments
form Signs on of North Africa, Brittany, and the British Isles.
NeoUthic These are all so rudimentary that resemblances
Monuments. ^^^ inevitable, and of themselves afford little
ground for necessary connections. Primitive man is but a
child, and all children bawl and scrawl much in the same way.
Nevertheless C. Letourneau' has taken the trouble to com-
pare five such scrawls from "Libyan inscriptions" now in
the Bardo Museum, Tunis, with similar or identical signs on
Brittany and Irish dolmens. There is the familiar circle
plain and dotted o 0, the cross in its simplest form +, the
pothook and segmented square P n, all of which recur in
the Phoenician, Keltiberjan, Etruscan, Libyan or Tuareg
systems. Letourneau, however, who does not call them
letters but only "signes alphabdtiformes," merely suggests
that, if not phonetic marks when first carved on the neolithic
monuments, they may have become so in later times. Against
this it need only be urged that in later times all these peoples
were supplied with complete alphabetic systems from the
East as soon as they required them. By that time all the
peoples of the cultilre-zone were well-advanced into the
historic period, and had long forgotten the rude carvings of
their neolithic forefathers.
Armed with a nearly perfect writing system, and the
correlated cultural appliances, the higher races soon took a
foremost place in the general progress of mankind, and
gradually acquired a marked ascendancy, not only over the
less cultured populations of the elobe, but in
Character and , ^i r r ,
Consequences ^^rge measure over the forces of nature herself,
of the later With the development of navigation and im-
MT*^°^ans proved methods of locomotion, inland seas,
barren wastes, and mountain ranges ceased to
be insurmountable obstacles to their movements, which within
1 "Les signes libyques des dolmens,'' Bui. Soc. d'Anthrop. 1896, p. 319.
ii] Historic Times and Peoples 37
certain limits have never been arrested throughout all recorded
time.
Thus, during the long ages following the first peopling of
the earth by pleistocene man, fresh settlements and readjust-
ments have been continually in progress, although wholesale
displacements must be regarded as rare events. With few
exceptions, the later migrations, whether hostile or peaceful,
were, for reasons already stated', generally of a partial
character, while certain insular regions, such as America and
Australia, remained little affected by such movements till
quite recent times. But for the inhabitants of the eastern
hemisphere the results were none the less far-reaching. Con-
tinuous infiltrations could not fail ultimately to bring about
great modifications of early types, while the ever-active
principle of convergence tended to produce a general uni-
formity amongst the new amalgams. Thus the great varietal
divisions, though undergoing slow changes from age to age,
continued, like all other zoological groups, to maintain a
distinct regional character.
Flinders Petrie has acutely observed that the only meaning
the term " race " now can have is that of a group of human
beings, whose type has become unified by their -j^g "Race"
rate of assimilation exceeding the rate of change merges in the
produced by foreign elements I We are also "People,
reminded by Gustavo Tosti that "in the actual state of science
the word ' race ' is a vague formula, to which nothing definite
may be found to correspond. On the one hand, the original
races can only be said to belong to palaeontology, while the
more limited groups, now called races, are nothing but peoples,
or societies of peoples, brethren by civilization more than by
blood. The race thus conceived ends by identifying itself
with nationality^" Hence it has been asked why, on the
principle of convergence, a fusion of various races, if isolated
long enough in a given area, may not eventually lead to a
new ra,cial "type, without leaving any trace of its manifold
origin\
Such new racial types would be normal for the later
varietal groups, just as the old types were normal for the
1 Eth. Chap. XIII.
2 Address, Meeting British Assoc. Ipswich, 1895.
3 Amer. J. of Socwlogy, Jan. 1898, pp. 46^-8:
* A. Vierkandt, Globus, ^2, p.. 134-
38 Man: Past and Present [ch.
earlier groups, and a general application might be given to
Topinard's famous dictum that les peuples seuls sont des
rMitds^, that is, peoples alone — groups occupying definite
geographical areas — have an objective existence. Thus, the
notion of race, as a zoological expression in the sense of a
pure breed or strain, falls still more into the background, and,
as Virchow aptly remarks, " this term, which always implied
something vague, has in recent times become in the highest
degree uncertain"."
Hence Ehrenreich treats the present populations of the
earth rather as zoological groups which have been developed
The distinguish- '^"^ '^^i'* Several geographical domains, and are
ing Characters to be distinguished not so much by their bony
of Peoples. structure as by their external characters, such as
hair, colour, and expression, and by their habitats and languages.
None of these factors can be overlooked, but it would seem
that the character of the hair forms the most satisfactory
basis for a classification of mankind, and this has therefore
been adopted for the new edition of the present work. It
has the advantage of simplicity, without involving, or even
implying, any particular theory of racial or geographical
origins. It has stood the test of time, being proposed by
Bory de Saint Vincent in 1827, and adopted by Huxley,
Haeckel, Broca, Topinard and many others.
The three main varieties of hair are the straight, the wavy
and the so-called woolly, termed respectively Leiotrichous,
Cymotrichous and Ulotrichous^. Straight hair usually falls
straight down, though it may curl at the ends, it is generally
coarse and stiff, and is circular in section. Wavy hair is
undulating, forming long curves or imperfect spirals, or closer
rings or curls, and the section is more or less elliptical.
Woolly hair is characterised by numerous, close, often inter-
locking spirals, 1-9 mm. in diameter, the section giving the
form of a lengthened ellipse. Straight hair is usually the
longest, and woolly hair the shortest, wavy hair occupying an
intermediate position.
' iiUments d'Anthropologie Gdnirale, p. 207.
^ Rassfinbildung u. Erblichkeit; Bastian-Festschrift, 1896, p. i.
3 From Gk. Xetos, smooth, <c5jtia, wave, ouXor, fleecy, and Bpl^, rpXxos, hair.
J. Deniker ( The Races of Man, 1900, p. 38) distinguishes four classes, the Australians,
Nubians etc. being grouped 3& frizzy. He gives the corresponding terms in French
and German : — straight, Fr. droit, lisse, Germ, straff, schlicht ; wavy, Fr. ondS,
Germ, wellig ; frizzy, Yr.frisd, Germ, lockig; woolly, Fr. crdpu. Germ, kraus.
ii] Historic Times and Peoples 39
Scheme of Classification.
I. Ulotrichi (Woolly-haired).
1. The African Negroes, Negrilloes, Bushmen.
2. The Oceanic Negroes : Papuans, Melanesians in
part, Tasmanians, Negritoes.
II. Leiotrichi (Straight-haired).
1. The Southern Mongols.
2. The Oceanic Mongols, Polynesians in part.
3. The Northern Mongols.
4. The American Aborigines.
III. Cymotrichi (Curly or Wavy-haired).
1. The Pre-Dravidians : Vedda, Sakai, etc., Austra-
lians.
2. The " Caucasic " peoples :
A. Southern Dolichocephals : Mediterraneans, Ha-
mites, Semites, Dravidians, Indonesians, Poly-
nesians in part.
B. Northern Dolichocephals : Nordics, Kurds, Af-
ghans, some Hindus.
C. Brachycephals : Alpines, including the short
Cevenoles of Western and Central Europe,
and tall Adriatics or Dinarics of Eastern
Europe and the Armenians of Western Asia.
CHAPTER- III
, THE AFRICAN NEGRO : I. SUDANESE
Conspectus — The Negro-Caucasic" Great Divide" — The Negro Domain — Negro
Origins — Persistence of the Negro Type — Two Main Sections : Sudanese and
Bantus — Contrasts and Analogies — Sudanese and Bantu Linguistic Areas —
The " Drum Language " — West Sudanese Groups — The Wolofs : Primitive
Speech and Pottery ; Religious Notions — The Mandingans : Culture and
Industries; History; the Guind and Mali Empires — The Felups: Contrasts
between the Inland and Coast Peoples ; Felup Type and Mental Characters —
*. Timni — ^African Freemasonry — The Sierra Leonese— Social Relations — The
Liberians — The Krumen — The Upper Guinea Peoples — Table of the Gold
Coast and Slave Coast Tribes — Ashanti Folklore — Fetishism ; its true inward-
ness— Ancestry Worship and the "Customs" — The Benin Bronzes — The
Mossi — African Agnostics — Central Sudanese — General Ethnical and Social
Relations— 2",4« Songhai — Domain — Origins — Egyptian Theories — Songhai
Records — The Hau'sas — Dominant Social Position — Speech and Mental
Qualities — Origins — Kanembu ; Kanuri ; Baghirmi ; Mosgu—Kthnical and
Political Relations in the Chad Basin — The Aborigines — Islam and Heathen-
dom— Slave-Hunting — Arboreal Strongholds — Mosgu Types and Contrasts —
The Cultured Peoples of Central Sudan — Kanem-Bornu Records — Eastern
Sudanese — Range of the Negro in Eastern Sudan — The Mabas — Ethnical
Relations in Wadai — The Nubas — The Nubian Probletn — Nubian Origins
and Affinities — The Negro Peoples of the Nile-Congo Watersheds — Political
Relations — Two Physical Types — The Dinka — Linguistic Groups — Mental
Qualities — Cannibalism — The African Cannibal Zone — Arts and Industries —
High Appreciation of Pictorial Art — Sense of Humour.
Conspectus of Sudanese Negroes.
Present Range. Africa south of the Sahara, less
Distribution in Abyssinia, Galla, Somali and Masai lands;
Past and TripoUtana, Mauritania and Egypt sporadically ;
Present Times, several of the southern United States; West
Indies ; Guiana ; parts of Brazil and Peru.
Hair, always black, rather short, and crisp, frizzly or
•woolly, fiat in transverse section; skin-colour, very dark
brown or chocolate and blackish, never quite
Chlrlctirs. black ;^ skuU, generally dolichocephalous {index
72); iscws, prognathous ; cheek-bone, rather
small, moderately retreating, rarely prominent ; nose, very
CH. Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 41
broad at base, fiat, small, platyrrhine ; eyes, large, round,
prominent, black with yellowish cornea; stature, usually
tall, 178 m. (5 ft. 10 «"«.); lips, often tumid and everted;
arms, disproportionately long; legs, slender with small
calves ; feet, broad, flat, with low instep and larkspur heel.
Temperament, sensuous, indolent, improvident ; fitful,
passionate and cruel, though often affectionate
and faithful ; little sense of dignity, and slight characters
self -consciousness, hence easy acceptance of yoke
of slavery ; musical.
Speech, almost everywhere in the agglutinating state,
generally with suffixes.
Religion, anthropomorphic ; spirits endowed with human
attributes, mostly evil and m,ore powerful than man;
ancestry-worship, fetishism,, and witchcraft very prevalent;
human sacrifices to the dead a common feature.
Culture, low ; cannibalism, formerly rife, perhaps uni-
versal, still general in some regions ; no science or letters ; arts
and industries confined mainly to agriculture, pottery, wood-
carving, weaving, and metallurgy ; no perc^tible progress
anywhere except under the infiuence of higher races.
West Sudanese: Wolof; Mandingan; Felup; Timni ;
Kru; Sierra Leonese; Liberian; Tshi, Ewe, Main^
and Yoruba; Ibo ; Efik ; Borgu; Mossi. ^ Divisions.
Central Sudanese : Songhai; Hausa; Mosgu; Kanembu;
Kanuri ; Baghirmi ; Yedina.
East Sudanese: Maba; F-Hr ; Nuba; Shilluk ; Dinka;
Bari; Abaka; Bongo; Mangbattu; Zandeh; Momfu;
Basd; Barea.
From the anthropological standpoint Africa falls into two
distinct sections, where the highest (Caucasic) and the lowest
(Negro) divisions of mankind have been con- TheNegro-
terminous throughout all known time. Mutual Caucasic
encroachments and interpenetrations have prob- "Great Dmde."
ably been continuous, and indeed are still going on. Yet so
marked is the difference between the two groups, and such is
the tenacity with which each clings to its proper domain, that,
despite any very distinct geographical frontiers, the ethno-
logical parting line may still be detected. Obliterated at one
1 For a tentative classification of African tribes see T. A. Joyce, Art. " Africa :
Ethnology," Ency. Brit. 1910, p. 329.
42 Man: Past and Present [ch.
or two points, and at others set back always in favour of the
higher division, it may be followed from the Atlantic coast
along the course of the Senegal river east by north to the
great bend of the Niger at Timbuktu ; then east by south to
Lake Chad, beyond which it runs nearly due east to Khartum,
at the confluence of the White and Blue Niles.
From this point the now isolated Negro groups (Bas^and
Barea), on the northern slope of the Abyssinian plateau, show
that the original boundary was at first continued still east to
the Red Sea at or about Massowa. But for many ages the
line appears to have been deflected from Khartum along the
White Nile south to the Sobat confluence, then continuously
south-eastwards round by the Sobat Valley to the Albert
Nyanza, up the Somerset Nile to the Victoria Nyanza, and
thence with a considerable southern bend round Masailand
eastwards to the Indian Ocean at the equator.
All the land north of this irregular line belongs to the
Hamito-Semitic section of the Caucasic division, all south of it
to the western (African) section of the Ulotrichous
Dom^^'^° division. Throughout this region — which com-
prises the whole of Sudan from the Atlantic to
the White Nile, and all south of Sudan except Abyssinia,
Galla, Somali and Masai lands — the African Negro, clearly
distinguished from the other main groups by the above sum-
marised physical^ and mental qualities, largely predominates
everywhere and in many places exclusively. The route by
which he probably reached these intertropical lands, where he
may be regarded as practically indigenous, has been indicated
in Ethnology, Chs. X. and XI.
As regards the date of this occupation, nothing can be.
clearly proved. "The history of Africa reaches back but a
jj Q . . short distance, except, of course, as ' far as the
lower Nile Valley and Roman Africa is con-
cerned ; elsewhere no records exist, save tribal traditions, and
these only relate to very recent events. Even archaeology,
which can often sketch the main outlines of a people's history,
is here practically powerless, owing to the insufficiency of
^ Graphically summed up in the classical description of the Negress :
" Afra genus, toti patriam testante figurS,,
Torta comam labroque tumens, et fusca colorem,
Pectore lata, jacens mammis, compressior alvo,
Cruribus exilis, spatiosi prodiga planti."
Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 43
data. It is true that stone implements of palaeolithic and
neolithic types are found sporadically in the Nile Valley\
Somaliland, on the Zambesi, in Cape Colony and the northern
portions of the Congo Free State, as well as in Algeria and
Tunisia ; but the localities are far too few and too widely
separated to warrant the inference that they are to be in any
way connected. Moreover, where stone implements are
found they are, as a rule, very near, even actually on, the
surface of the earth," and they are rarely, if ever, found in
association with bones of extinct animals. " Nothing occurs
resembling the regular stratification of Europe, and conse-
quently no argument based on geological grounds is possible^"
The exceptions are the lower Nile and Zambesi where true
palaeoliths have been found not only on the surface (which in
this case is not inconsistent with great antiquity) but also in
stratified gravel. Implements of palaeolithic type are doubt-
less common, and may be compared to Chellean, Mousterian
and even Solutrian specimens', but primitive culture is not
necessarily pleistocene. Ancient forms persisted in Egypt
down to the historic period, and even patination is no sure
test of age, so until further evidence is found the antiquity of
man in Africa must remain undecided*.
Yet since some remote if undated epoch the specialised
Negro type, as depicted on the Egyptian monuments some
thousands of years ago", has everywhere been persistence
maintained with striking uniformity. "Within of the Negro
this wide domain of the black Negro there is a ^^P®-
remarkably general similarity of type.... If you took a Negro
from the Gold Coast of West Africa and passed him off
amongst a number of Nyasa natives, and if he were not
remarkably distinguished from them by dress or tribal marks,
it' would not be easy to pick him out^"
Nevertheless considerable differences are perceptible to
1 See H. R. Hall, papers and references in Man, 19, 1905.
2 T. A. Joyce, "Africa : Ethnology," Ency. Brit. 1910, I. 327.
3 J. P. Johnson, The Prehistoric Period in South Africa, 19 12.
* See H. H. Johnston, "A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa," Journ. Roy.
Anthr. Inst. XLiii. 1913.
' The skeleton found by Hans Reck at Oldoway in 1914 and claimed by him to
be of Pleistocene age exhibits all the typical Negro features, including the filed
teeth, characteristic of East African negroes at the present day, but the geological
evidence is imperfect.
6 H. H. Johnston, British Central Africa, 1897, p. 393-
44 Man : Past and Present [ch.
the practised eye, and the contrasts are sufficiently marked
Two Main ^° justify ethnologists in treating the Sudanese
Sections: Su- and the Bantu as two distinct subdivisions of
daneseand the family. In both groups the relatively full-
Bantus. blood natives are everywhere very much alike,
and the contrasts are presented chiefly amongst the mixed or
Negroid populations. In Sudan the disturbing elements are
both Hamitic (Berbers sind Tuaregs) and Semitic (Arabs) ;
while in Bantuland they are mainly Hamitic (Galla) in all the
central and southern districts, and Arabs on the eastern sea-
board from the equator to Sofala beyond the Zambesi. To
the varying proportions of these several ingredients may
perhaps be traced the often very marked differences observable
on theone hand between such Sudanese peoples as the Wolof,
Mandingans, Hausa, Nubians, Zandeh^ and Mangbattu, and
on the other between all these and the Swahili, Baganda,
Zulu-Xosa, Be-Chuana, Ova-Herero and some other Negroid
Bantu.
But the distinction is based on social, linguistic, and
cultural, as well as on physical grounds, so that, as at present
constituted, the Sudanese and Bantu really constitute two
tolerably well-defined branches of the Negro
SaSi."^"*^ family. Thanks to Muhammadan influences,
the former have attained a much higher level of
culture. They cultivate not only the alimentary but also the
economic plants, such as cotton and indigo ; they build stone
dwellings, walled towns, substantial mosques and minarets ;
they have founded powerful states, such as those of the
Hausa and Songhai, of Ghana and Bornu, with written
records going back a thousand years, although these historical
peoples are all without exception half-breeds, often with more
Semitic and Hamitic than Negro blood in their veins.
No ■ such cultured peoples are anywhere to be found in
Bantuland except on the east coast, where the "Moors"
founded great cities and flourishing marts centuries before the
appearance of the Portuguese in the eastern seas. Among
the results of the gold trade with these coastal settlements
may be classed the Zimbabwe monuments and other ruins
explored by Theodore Bent in the mining districts south of
* Zandeh is the name usually given to the groups of tribes akjn to Nilotics, but
probably with Fulah element, which includes the Azandeh or Niam Niatn,
Makaraka, Mangbattu and many others. Cf. T. A. Joyce, Ipc. cit. p. 329.
Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 45
the Zambesi. But in all the Negro lands free from foreign
mfluences no true culture has ever been developed, and here
cannibalism, witchcraft, and sanguinary "customs" are often
still rife, or have been but recently suppressed by the direct
action of European administrations.
Numberless authorities have described the Negro as un-
progressive, or, if left to himself, incapable of progress in his
present physical environment. Sir H. H. Johnston, who
knows him well, goes much further, and speaks of him as a
fine animal, who, "in his wild state, exhibits a stunted mind
and a dull content with his surroundings, which induces
mental stagnation, cessation of all upward progress, and even
retrogression towards the brute. In some respects I think
the tendency of the Negro for several centuries past has been
an actual retrograde one\"
There is one point in which the Bantu somewhat unac-
countably compare favourably with the Sudanese. In all
other regions the spread of culture has tended
to bring about linguistic unity, as we see in the andBiantu
Hellenic world, where all the old idioms were Linguistic ,
gradually absorbed in the "common dialect" of ^''^^^•
the Byzantine empire, again in the Roman empire, where
Latin became the universal speech of the West, and lastly in
the Muhammadan countries, where most of the local tongues
have nearly everywhere, except in Sudan, disappeared before
the Arabic, Persian, and Turkish languages.
But in Negroland the case is reversed, and here the less
cultured Bantu populations all, without any known exception,
speak dialects of a single mother-tongue, while the greatest
linguistic confusion prevails amongst the semi-civilised as well
as the savage peoples of Sudan.
Although the Bantu language may, as some suppose ^ have
originated in the north and spread southwards to the Congo,
Zambesi, and Limpopo basins, it cannot now be even remotely
affiliated to any one of the numerous distinct forms of speech
current in the Sudanese domain. Hence to allow time for its
1 British Central Africa, p. 472. But see R. E. Dennett, At the Back of the
Black Man's Mind, 1906, and A. G. Leonard, The Lower Niger and its Tribes, 1906,
for African mentality.
2 For theories of Bantu migrations see H. H. Johnston, George Grenfell and the
Congo, 1908, and " A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa," Journ. Roy. Anthr.
Soc. XLIII. 1913, p. 391 ff. Also F. Stuhlmann, Handwerk und Industrie in
Ostafrika, 1910, p. 138, f. 147, with map, PI. I. B. For the date see p. 92.
46 Man : Past and Present [ch.
diffusion over half the continent, the initial movement must
be assigned to an extremely remote epoch, and a corresponding
period of great duration must be postulated for the profound
linguistic disintegration that is everywhere witnessed in the
region between the Atlantic and Abyssinia. Here agglutina-
tion, both with prefixed and postfixed particles, is the
prevailing morphological order, as in the Mandingan, Fulah,
Nubian, Dinkan, and Mangbattu groups. But every shade
of transition is also presented between true agglutination and
inflection of the Hamito-Semitic types, as in Hausa, Kanuri,
Kanem, Dasa or Southern and Teda or Northern Tibu\
Elsewhere, and especially in Upper Guinea, the originally
agglutinating tongues have developed on lines analogous to
those followed by Tibetan, Burmese, Chinese, and Otomi in
other continents, with corresponding results. Thus the Tshi,
Ewe, and Yoruba, surviving members of a now extinct stock-
language, formerly diffused over the whole region between
Cape Palmas and the Niger Delta, have become so burdened
with monosyllabic homophones (like-sounding monosyllables),
that to indicate their different meanings several distinguishing
tones have been evolved, exactly as in the Indo-Chinese
group. In Ewe (Slave Coast) the root do, according as it is
toned may mean to put, let go, tell, kick, be sad, join, change,
grow big, sleep, prick, or grind. So great are the ravages
of phonetic decay, that new expedients have been developed
to express quite simple ideas, as in Tshi (Gold Coast) addan-
mu, room {addan house, mu interior) ; akwancherifo, a guide
(akwan road, cheri to show, fo person) ; ensahtsiabah, finger"
{ensah hand, tsia small, abbah child = hand's-little-child) ; but
middle-finger = "hand's-little-chief" {ensahtsiahin, where ehin
chief takes the place of abbah child ^).
Common both to Sudanese and Bantus, especially about
the western borderlands (Upper Guinea, Cameruns, etc.) is
the "drum-language," which affords a striking
Language*" illustration of the Negro's musical faculty.
"Two or three drums are usually used together,
each producing a different note, and they are played either
with the fingers or with two sticks. The lookers-on generally
beat time by clapping the hands. To a European, whose
^ Even a tendency to polysynthesis occurs, as in Vei, and in Yoruba, where the
small-pox god Shakpanna is made up of the three elements shan to plaster, kpa to
kill, and eniu a person = one who kills a person by plastering him (with pustules).
2 The Nilotic languages are to a considerable extent tonic.
in] The African Negro: 1. Sudanese 47
ear and mind are untrained for this special faculty, the rhythm
of a drum expresses nothing beyond a repetition of the same
note at different intervals of time ; but to a native it expresses
much more. To him the drum can and does speak, the
sounds produced from it forming words, and the whole
measure or rhythm a sentence. In this way, when company
drums are being played at an ehsddu [palaver], they are made
to express and convey to the bystanders a variety of meanings.
In one measure they abuse the men of another company,
stigmatising them as fools and cowards ; then the rhythm
changes, and the gallant deeds of their own company are
extolled. All this, and much more, is conveyed by the beat-
ing of drums, and the native ear and mind, trained to select
and interpret each beat, is never at fault. The language of
drums is as well understood as that which they use in their
daily life. Each chief has his own call or motto, sounded b)'^
a particular beat of his drums. Those of Amankwa Tia, the
Ashanti general who fought against us in the war of 1873-4,
used to say Ptrthuh, hasten. Similar mottoes are also ex-
pressed by means of horns, and an entire stranger in the
locality can at once translate the rhythm into words\"
Similar contrasts and analogies will receive due illustration
in the detailed account here following of the several more
representative Sudanese groups.
West Sudanese.
Wolofs. Throughout its middle and lower course the
Senegal river, which takes its name from the Zenaga Berbers,
forms the ethnical "divide" between the Hamites and the
Sudanese Negroes. The latter are here represented by the
Wolofs, who with the kindred Jolofs and Severs occupy an
extensive territory between the Senegal and the Gambia
rivers. Whether the term "Wolof" means "Talkers," as if
they alone were gifted with the faculty of speech, or " Blacks "
in contrast to the neighbouring " Red " Fulahs, both interpreta-
tions are fully justified by these Senegambians, at once the
very blackest and amongst the most garrulous tribes in the
1 A. B. Ellis, The\ Tshi-speakin^ Peoples, etc., 1887, pp. 327-8. Only one
European, Herr R. Betz, long resident amongst the Dualas of the Cameruns
district, has yet succeeded in mastering the drum language ; he claims to under-
stand nearly all that is drummed and is also able to drum himself. {Athenceum,
May 7, 1898, p. 611.)
48 Man : Past and Present [ch.
whole of Africa. The colour is called " ebony," and they are
commonly spoken of as " Blacks of the Black." They are
also very tall even for Negroes, and the Serers especially
may claim to be " the ^atagonians of the Old World," men six
feet six inches high and proportionately muscular being far
from rare in the coast districts about St Louis and Dakar.
Their language, which is widespread throughout Sene-
gambia, may be taken as a typical Sudanese form of speech,
unlike any other in its peculiar agglutinative
^^^oL^^nt. structure, and unaffected even in its vocabulary
Wolof bpeecn. , t • . . i . t , i - ■ r
by the Hamitic which has been current tor ages
on the opposite bank of the Senegal. A remarkable feature
is the so-called "article," always postfixed and subject to a
two-fold series of modifications, first in accordance with the
initial consonant of the noun, for which there are six possible
consonantal changes {w, m, b, d, s, g), and then according as
the object is present, near, not near, and distant,, for which
there are again four possible vowel changes (i, u, o, a), or
twenty-four altogether, a tremendous redundancy of useless
variants as compared with the single English form the. Thus
this Protean particle begins with b, d or w to agree with bdye,
father, digene, woman, or fos, horse, and then becomes bi, bu,
bo, ba ; di, du etc. ; wi, wu etc. to express the presence and
the varying distances of these objects: bdye-bi—ia.^e.r-th.&-
here ; bdye-bu = father-the-there ; bdye-bo = father-the-yonder ;
bdye-bd = {a.iher-the-a.vfa.y in the distance.
All this is curious enough ; but the, important point is that
it probably gives us the clue to the enigmatic alliterative
system of the Bantu languages as explained in Ethnology,
p. 273, the position of course being reversed. Thus as in
Zulu in- kose requires en- kulu, so in Wolof bay& requires bi,
dzgene di, and so on. There are other indications that the
now perfected Bantu grew out of analogous but less developed
processes still prevalent in the Sudanese tongues.
Equally undeveloped is the Wolof process of making
earthenware, as observed by M. F. Regnault amongst the
natives brought to Paris for the Exhibition of
Woio^Pottery ^^95- -^^ noticed how one of the women
utilised a somewhat deep bowl resting on the
ground in such a way as to be easily spun round by the hand,
thus illustrating the transition between hand-made and turned
pottery. Kneading a lump of clay, and thrusting it into the
Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 49
bowl, after sprinkling .the sides with some black dust to
prevent sticking, she made a hollow in the mass, enlarging
and pressing it against the bowl with the back of the fingers
bent in, the hand being all the time kept in a vertical position.
At the same time the bowl was spun' round with the left
palm, this movement combined with the pressure exerted by
the right hand causing the sides of the vessel to rise and take
shape. When high enough it was finished off by thickening
the clay to make a rim. This' was held in the right hand and
niade fast to the mouth of the* vessel by the friction caused
by again turning the bowl with the left hand. This transi-
tional process is frequently met with in Africa^
Most of the Wolofs profess themselves Muhammadans,
the rest Catholics, while all alike are heathen at heart ; only
the former have charms with texts from the
Koran which they cannot read, and the latter Notions"^
medals and scapulars of the " Seven Dolours "
or of the Trinity, which they cannot understand. Many old
rites still flourish, the household gods are not forgotten, and
for the lizard, most popular of tutelar deities, the customary
milk-bowl is daily replenished. Glimpses are thus afforded
of the totemic system which still survives in a modified form
amongst the Be-Chuana, the Mandingans, and several other
African peoples, but has elsewhere mostly died out in Negro^
land. The infantile ideas associated with plant and animal
totem tokens have been left far behind, when a people like
the Serers have arrived at such a lofty conception as Takhar,
god of justice, or even the more materialistic Tiurakh, god
of wealth, although the latter may still be appealed to for
success in nefarious projects which he himself might scarcely
be expected to countenance. But the harmony between
religious and ethical thought has scarcely yet been reached
even amongst some of the higher races.
Mandingans. In the whole of Sudan there is scarcely a
more numerous or widespread people than the Mandingans,
who — with their endless ramifications, Kassonkd, Mandinean
JallonkS, Soninkd, Bambara, Vei and many Groups,
others — occupy most of the region between the Culture and
Atlantic and the Joliba (Upper Niger) basin, as
far south as about 9° N. latitude. Within these limits it is
1 Cf. H. S. Harrison, Handbook to the cases illustrating stages in the evolution
^fthe Domestic Arts. Part n. Horniman Museum and Library. Forest Hill, S.E.
50 Man: Past and Present [ch.
often difficult to say who are, or who are not members of this
great family, whose various branches present all the transitional
shades of physical type and culture grades between the true
pagan Negro and the Muhammadan Negroid Sudanese.
Even linguistic unity exists only to a limited extent, as
the numerous dialects of the Mand^ stock-language have
often diverged so greatly as to constitute independent tongues
quite unintelligible to the neighbouring tribes. The typical
Mandingans, however — Faidherbe's Malinka-Soninke group
—may be distinguished from the surrounding populations by
their more softened features, broader forehead, larger nose,
fuller beard, and lighter colour. They are also distinguished
by their industrious habits and generally higher culture, being
rivalled by few as skilled tillers of the soil, weavers, and
workers in iron and copper. They thus hold much the same
social position in the west that the Hausa do in the central
region beyond the Niger, and the French authorities think
that " they are destined to take a position of ever increasing
importance in the pacified Sudan of the future\"
Thus history brings about its revenges, for the Mandin-
gans proper of the Kong plateau may fairly claim, despite
their late servitude to the Fulah conquerors and their present
ready acceptance of French rule, to be a historical people
with a not inglorious record of over looo years, as founders
of the two great empires of Melle and Guin^, and of the
more recent states of Moasina, Bambara, Kaarta, Kong, and
others about the water-parting between the head-streams of
the Niger, and the rivers flowing south to the Gulf of Guinea.
Here is the district of Manding, which is the original home
of the Manding ki, i.e. " People of Manding," as they are
generally called, although Mand^ appears to be the form
used by themselves ^ Here also was the famous city of Mali
1 E. T. Hamy, " Les Races Nfegres," in L'Anthropologie, 1897, p. 257 sq.
^ " Chaque fois que j'ai demand^ avec intention k un Mand^, ' Es-tu Peul, Mossi,
Dafina ? ' il me rdpondait invariablement, '/« suis Mandd: C'est pourquoi, dans le
cours de ma relation, j'ai toujours d^signd ce peuple par le nom de Mandd, qui est
son vrai nom." (L. G. Binger, Du Niger au Golfe de Guinie, 1892, Vol. 11. p. 373.)
At p. 375 this authority gives the following subdivisions of the Mand^ family,
named from their respective tennd (idol, fetish, totem) :
I Bamba, the crocodile : Bammana, not Bambara, which means kafir or
infidel, and is applied only to the non-Moslem Mand6 groups.
2. Mali, the hippopotamus : MaWnkd, including the Kagoros and the Tagwas.
3. Sama, the elephant : Samdnki.
4. Sa, the snake : Sa-mokho.
Of each there are several sub-groups, while the surrounding peoples call them
■Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 51
or Melle, from which the Upper Niger group take the name
of Mali'nkd, in contradistinction to the Sonink^oi the Senegal
river, the Jalo'nkd of Futa-Jallon, and the Bamana of Bam-
bara, these being the more important historical and cultured
groups.
According to native tradition and the annals of Ahmed
Bab4, rescued from oblivion by Barth\ the first Mandingan
state of Guin^ (Ghana, Gh4nata), a name still
. ^, ' 1 • 1 History.
survivmg m the vague geographical term
"Guinea," goes back to pre-Muhammadan times. Wakaya-
mangha, its legendary founder, is supposed to
have flourished 300 years before the Hejira, at MaU^Emplres^
which date twenty-two kings had already reigned.
Sixty years after that time the Moslem Arabs or Berbers are
said to have already reached West Sudan, where they had
twelve mosques in Ghdna, first capital of the empire, and
their chief stronghold till the foundation of Jinni on the
Upper Niger (1043 a.d.).
Two centuries later (1235-60) the centre of the Mandin-
gan rule was transferred to Mali, which under the great king
Mansa-Musa (1311-31) became the most powerful Sudanese
state of which there is any authentic record. For a time it
included nearly the whole of West Sudan, and a great part
of the western Sahara, beside the Songhai State with its
capital Gogo, and Timbuktu. Mansa-Musa, who, in the
language of the chronicler, "wielded a power without measure
or limits," entered into friendly relations with the emperor of
Morocco, and made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca, the
splendours of which still linger in- the memory of the Mussul-
man populations through whose lands the interminable
procession wound its way. He headed 60,000 men of arms,
says Ahmed Bd.bi, and wherever he passed he was preceded
by 500 slaves, each bearing a gold stick weighing 500 mitkals
(14 lbs.), the whole representing a money value of about
^4,000,000 (.-"). The people of Cairo and Mecca were
dazzled by his wealth and munificence ; but during the
journey a great part of his followers were seized by a painful
malady called in their language iuai, and this word still lives
in the Oasis of Tuat, where most of them perished.
all collectively Wakord, Wangara, Sakhersi, and especially Diula. Attention to
this point will save the reader much confusion in consulting Barth, Caillid, and
other early books of travel.
1 Travels, Vol. IV. p. 579 sqq.
4—2
52 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Even after the capture of Timbuktu by the Tuaregs
(1433), Mali long continued to be the chief state in West
Nigritia, and carried on a flourishing trade, especially in slaves
and gold. But this gold was still supposed to come from the
earlier kingdom of Guin6, which word consequently still
remains associated with the precious metal in the popular
belief. About the year 1500 Mali was captured by the
Songhai king, Omar Askia, after which the empire fell to
pieces, and its memory now survives only in the ethnical term
Malinkd.
Felups. From the semi-civilised Muhammadan negroid
Mandingans to the utterly savage full-blood Negro Felupa
„ . . the transition is abrupt, but instructive. In
Contrasts . , , '^ ' i • i
between the Other regions the heterogeneous ethnical groups
Inland and crowded into upland valleys, as in the Caucasus,
eopes. jj^Yg been called the "sweepings of the plains."
But in West Sudan there are no great ranges towering above
the lowlands, and even the " Kong Mountains " of school
geographies have now been wiped out by L. G. Binger".
Hence the rude aborigines of the inland plateau, retreating
before the steady advance of Islim, found no place of refuge
till they reached the indented fjord-like Atlantic seaboard,
where many still hold their ground. This is the explanation
of the striking contrasts now witnessed between the interior
and so m,any parts of the West Coast ; on the one hand
powerful political organisations with numerous, more or less
homogeneous, and semi-civilised negroid populations, on the
other an infinite tangle of ethnical and linguistic groups, all
alike weltering in the sheerest savagery, or in grades of
barbarism even worse than the wild state.-
Even the Felups, whose territory now stretches from the
Gambia to the Cacheo, but formerly reached the Geba and
Feiup Type ^^ Bissagos Islands, do not form a single group,
and Mental Originally the name of an obscure coast-tribe.
Characters. ^.jjg t&rm Felup or Fulup has been extended by
the Portuguese traders to all the surrounding peoples —
Ayamats, Jolas, Jig'Hshes, Vacas, Joats, Karons, BanyiinSy
Banjars; FuMns, Bayots and some others who amid much
local diversity, presented a sufficiently general outward re-
semblance to be regarded as a single people by the first
' " La chaine des Montagnes de Kong n'a jamais exists que dans I'imaginatioB
de quelques voyageurs mal renseignes," Du Niger au Golfede Guinie, 1892, 1, p. 285.
Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 53
European settlers. The Felups proper display the physical
and mental characters of the typical Negro even in an ex-
aggerated ■ form — black colour, flat nose, wide nostrils, very
thick and everted lips, red on the inner surface, stout
muscular frame, correlated with coarse animal passions, crass
ignorance, no arts, industry, or even tribal organisation, so that
every little family group is independent and mostly in a state
of constant feud with its neighbours. All go naked, armed
with bow and arrow, and live in log huts which, though
strongly built, are indescribably filthy\
Mother-right frequently prevails, rank and property being
transmitted in the female line. There is some notion of a
superhuman being vaguely identified with the sky, the rain,
wind or thunderstorm. But all live in extreme terror of the
medicine-man, who is openly courted, but inwardly detested,
so that whenever it can be safely done the tables are turned,
the witch-doctor is seized and tortured to death.
Timni, Kru, Sierra-Leonese, Liberians. Somewhat
similar conditions prevail all along the seaboard from Sierra
Leone to, and beyond, Cape Palmas, disturbed or modified
by the Liberian intruders from the North American planta-
tions, and by the slaves rescued in the thirties and forties by
the British cruisers and brought to Sierra Leone, where their
descendants now live in settled communities under European
influences. These "coloured" citizens of Sierra Leone and
Liberia, who are so often the butt of cheap ridicule, and are
themselves perhaps too apt to scorn the kindred "niggers"
of the bush, have to be carefully distinguished from these true
aborigines who have never been wrenched from their natural
environment.
In Sierra Leone the chief aboriginal groups on the coast-
lands are the Timni of the Rokelle river, flanked north and
south by two branches of the Bulams, and still further south the
Gallinas, Veys and Golas ; in the interior the Lokkos, Limbas,
Konos, and Kussas, with Kwtankos, Mendis, Hubus,^.nA other
Mandingans and Fulahs everywhere in the Hinterland,
Of all these the most powerful during the British occupa-
tion have always been the Timni (Timani, Tetnti^), who sold
to the English the peninsula on which now Timni BeUefs.
stands Freetown, but afterwards crying off the
bargain, repeatedly tried to drive the white and coloured
1 Bertrand-Bocande, "Sur les Floups ou f dloups," in BuL Soc. de Gdogr. 1849.
54 Man: Past and Present [ch.
intruders into the sea. They are a robust people of softened
Negro type, and more industrious farmers than most of the
other natives. Like the Wolofs they believe in the virtue
both of Christian and Moslem amulets, but have hitherto lent
a deaf ear to the preachers of both these religions. Never-
theless the Protestant missionaries have carefully studied the
Timni language, which possesses an oral literature rich in
legends, proverbs, and folklore^
The Timni district is a chief centre of the so-called porro
fraternity", a sort of secret society or freemasonry widely
diffused throughout the coastlands, and possess-
^ee^Mon^ ing its own symbols, skin markings, passwords,
and language. It presents curious points of
analogy with the brotherhoods of the Micronesian islanders,
biit appears to be even more potent for good and evil, a
veritable religious and political state within the state. "When
their mandates are issued all wars and civil strife must cease,
a general truce is established, and bloodshed stopped, offending
communities being punished by bands of armed men in
masks. Strangers cannot enter the country unless escorted
by a member of the guild, who is recognised by passwords,
symbolic gestures, and the like. Their secret rites are cele-
brated at night in the depths of the forest, all intruders being
put to death or sold as slavesl"
In studying the social conditions prevalent amongst the
Sierra Leonese proper, it should be remembered that they
are sprung, not only from representatives of
Leonese"* almost every tribe along the seaboard, and even
in the far interior, but also to a large extent from
the freedmen and runaways of Nova Scotia and London,
besides many maroons of Jamaica, who were settled here
under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Company towards
the close of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth
century. Others also have in recent years been attracted to
the settlements from the Timni and other tribes of the neigh-
bouring districts. The Sierra Leonese are consequently not
1 A full account of this literature will be found in the Rev. C. F. Schlenker's
valuable work, A Collection of Temne Traditions, Fables and Proverbs, London,
1861. Here is given the curious explanation of the tribal name, from o-tem, an old
man, and n^, himself, because, as they say, the Temn6 people will exist for ever.
^ There is also a sisterhood — the borido — and the two societies work so far in
harmony that any person expelled from the one is also excluded from the other.
^ Reclus, Keane's English ed., Xll. p. 203.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 55
themselves a tribe, nor yet a people, but rather a people in
course of formation under the influence of a new environment
and of a higher culture. An immediate consequence of such
a sudden aggregation of discordant elements was the loss of
all the native tongues, and the substitution of English as the
common medium of intercourse. But English is the language
of a people standing on the very highest plane of culture, and
could not therefore be properly assimilated by the disjecta
meTnbra of tribes at the lowest rung of the social ladder.
The resultant form of speech may be called ludicrous, so
ludicrous that the Sierra Leonese version of the New Testa-
ment had to be withdrawn from circulation as verging almost
on the blasphemous'.
It has also to be considered that all the old tribal relations
were broken up, while an attempt was made to merge these
waifs and strays in a single community based
on social conditions to which each and all were Re?a?ions
utter strangers. It is not therefore surprising
that the experiment has not proved a complete success, and
that the social relations in Sierra Leone leave something to
be desired. Although the freedmen and the rescued captives
received free gifts of land, their dislike for the labours of the
field induced many to abandon their holdings, and take to
huckstering and other more pleasant pursuits. Hence their
descendants almost monopolise the petty traffic and even the
" professions " in Freetown and the other colonial settle-
ments. Although accused of laziness and dishonesty, they
have displayed a considerable degree of industrial as well as
commercial enterprise, and the Sierra Leone craftsmen —
smiths, mechanics, carpenters, builders — enjoy a good repu-
tation in all the coast towns. All are Christians of various
denominations, 'and even show a marked predilection for the
"ministry." Yet below the surface the old paganism still
slumbers, and vodoo practices, as in the West Indies and
some of the Southern States, are still heard of.
Morality also is admittedly at a low ebb, and it is curious
to note that this has in part been attributed to the freedom
" " Da Njoe Testament, translated into the Negro-English Language by the
Missionaries of the Unitas Fratrum," Brit, and For. Bible Soc, London, 1829.
Here is a specimen quoted by Ellis from The Artisan of Sierra Leone,- Aug. 4,
1886, " Those who live in ceiled houses love to hear the pit-pat of the rain overhead ;
whilst those whose houses leak are the subjects of restlessness and anxiety, not to
•mention the chances of catching cold, that is so frequent a source of leaky roofs:'
56 Man : Past and Present [ch.
enjoyed under the British administration. "They have
passed from the sphere of native law to that of British law,
which is brought to this young community like an article of
ready-made clothing. Is it a wonder that the clothes do not
fit ? Is it a wonder that kings and chiefs arotind Sierra
Leone, instead of wishing their people to come and see how
well we do things, dread for them to come to this colony on
account of the danger to their morals ? In passing into this
colony, they pass into a liberty which to them is license\"
An experiment of a somewhat different order, but with
much the same negative results, has been tried by the well-
. meaning founders of the Republic of Liberia.
The Liberians. ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^jj^ ^^ ^^^ "civilised aristocrats "
are descended of emancipated plantation slaves, a first con-
signment of whom was brought over by a philanthropic
American society in 1820-22. The idea was to start them
well in life under the fostering care of their white guardians,
and then leave them to work out their own redemption in
their own way. All control was accordingly withdrawn in
1848, and since then the settlement has constituted an abso-
lutely independent Negro state in the enjoyment of complete
self-government. Progfess of a certain material kind was
undoubtedly made. The original "free citizens" increased
from 8000 in 1850 to perhaps 20,000 in 1898^, and the central
administration, modelled on that of the United States, main-
tained some degree of order among the surrounding aborigines,
estimated at some two million within the limits of the
Republic.
But these aborigines have not benefited perceptibly by
contact with their "civilised" neighbours, who themselves
stand at much the same level intellectually and morally as
their repatriated forefathers. Instead of attending to the
proper administration of the Republic, the " Weegee," as
they are called, have constituted themselves into two factions,
the "coloured" or half-breeds, and the full-blood Negroes who,
like the " Blancos " and " Neros " of some South American
States, spend most of their time in a perpetual sti'uggle for
1 Right Rev. E. G. Ingham (Bishop of Sierra Leone), Sierra Leone after a
Hundred Years, London, 1894, p. 294. Cf. H. C. Lukach, A Bibliography of
Sierra Leone, 191 1, and T. J. Alldridge, A Transfortned Colony, 1910.
^ This increase, however, appears to be due to a steady immigration from the
Southern States, but for which the Liberians proper would die out, or become
absorbed in the surrounding native populations.
Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 57
office. All are of course intensely patriotic, but their
patriotism takes a wrong direction, being chiefly manifested
in their insolence towards the English and other European
traders on the coast, and in their supreme contempt for
the "stinking bush-niggers," as they call the surrounding
aborigines. In 1909 internal and external difficulties led to
the appointment of a Commission by President Roosevelt
with the result that the American Government took charge
of the finances, military organisation, agriculture and boundary
questions, besides arranging for a loan of ;^400,ooo. The
able administration of President Barclay, a pure blooded
Negro, though not of Liberian ancestry, is perhaps the
happiest augury for the future of the Republic'.
The Krus (Kroomen, Krooboys^), whose numerous hamlets
are scattered along the coast from below Monrovia nearly to
Cape Palmas, are assuredly one of the most
interesting people in the whole of Africa. * rumen.
Originally from the interior, they have developed in their
new homes a most un-African love of the sea,, hence are
regularly engaged as crews by the European skippers plying
along those insalubrious coastlands.
In this service, in which they < are known by such nick-
names as " Bottld-of-Beer," " Mashed- Potatoes," " Bubble-
and-Squeak," " Pipe-of-Tobacco," and the like, their word
may always be depended upon. But it is to be feared that
this loyalty, which with them is a strict matter of business,
has earned for them a reputation for other virtues to which
they have little claim. Despite the many years that they
have been in the closest contact with the missionaries and
traders, they are still at heart the same brutal savages as
ever. After each voyage they return to the native village to
spend all their gains and pilferings in drunken orgies, and
relapse generally into sheer barbarism till the next steamer
rounds the neighbouring headland. " It is not a comfortable
reflection," writes Bishop Ingham, whose testimony will not
be suspected of bias, "as we look at this mob on our decks,
that, if the ship chance to strike on a sunken rock and
become unmanageable, they would rise to a man, and seize
all they could lay hands on, cut the very rings off our fingers if
' H. H. Johnston, Liberia, 1906.
2 Possibly the English word " crew," but more probably an extension of Kraoh,
the name of a tribe near Settra-kru, to the whole group.
58 Man : Past and Present [ch.
they could get them in no other way, and generally loot the
ship. Little has been done to Christianise these interesting,
hard-working, cheerful, but ignorant and greedy people, who
have so long hung on the skirts of civilisation^"
It is only fair to the Kru to say that this unflattering
picture of them stands alone. " There is but one man of all
of us who have visited West Africa who has not paid a
tribute to the Kruboy's sterling qualities," says Miss Kingsley.
Her opinion coincides with that of the old coasters based on
life-long experience, and she waxes indignant at the ingratitude
with which Kruboy loyalty is rewarded. "They have devoted
themselves to us English, and they have suffered, laboured,
fought, been massacred and so on with us generation after
generation... Kruboys are, indeed, the backbone of white
effort in West Africa'."
But the very worst " sweepings of the Sudanese plateau "
seem to have gathered along the Upper Guinea Coast,
occupied by the already mentioned Tshi, Ewe,
Gu^ea'pTOpies ^"'^ Yoruba groups". They constitute three
branches of one linguistic, and probably also of
one ethnical family, of which, owing to their historic and
ethnical importance, the reader may be glad to have here
subjoined a somewhat complete tabulated scheme.
The Ga of the Volta delta are here bracketed with the
Tshi because A. B. Ellis, our great authority on the Guinea
peoples^ considers the two languages to be distantly con-
nected. He also thinks there is a foundation of fact in the
native traditions, which bring the dominant tribes — Ashanti,
Fanti, Dahomi, Yoruba, Bini — from the interior to the coast
districts at no very remote period. Thus it is recorded of
^ Sierra Leone after a Hundred Years, p. 280.
^ Mary H. Kingsley, Travels in West Africa, 1899, pp. 54-5.
^ Since the establishment of British authority in Nigeria (1900 to 1907) much
light has been thrown on ethnological problems. See among other works
C. Partridge, The Cross River Natives, 1905 ; A. G. Leonard, The Lower Niger
and its Tribes, 1906 ; A. J. N. Tremearne, The Niger and the Western Sudan,
1910, The Tailed Head-Hunters of Nigeria, i<)\i ; R. E. Dennett, Nigerian
Studies, 1910; E. D. Morel, Nigeria, its People and its Problems, 191 1, besides
the Anthropological Reports of N. W. Thomas, 1910, 1913, and papers by
J. Parkinson \a.Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvi. 1906, xxxvil. 1907.
* The services rendered to African anthropology by this distinguished officer
call for the fullest recognition, all the more that somewhat free and unacknow-
ledged use has been made of the rich materials brought together in his classical
works on The Tshi-speaking Peoples (1887), The Ewe-speaking Peoples (1890), and
The Yoruba-speaking Peoples (1894).
Ill]
The African Negro : I. Sudanese
59
the Ashanti and Fanti, now hereditary foes, that ages ago
they formed one people who were reduced to the utmost
distress during a long war with some inland power, perhaps
the conquering Muhammadans of the Ghana or Mali empire.
They were saved, however, some by eating of the shan,
others of the fan plant, and of these words,
with the verb di, " to eat," were made the tribal
names Shan-di, Fan-di, now Ashanti, Fanti.
The seppiriba plant, said to have been eaten by the Fanti, is
still called fan when cooked.
, Ashanti
Folklore.
Tribes of Tshi
Tribes of Ewe
Tribes of Yoruba
AND Ga Speech
Speech
Speech
Gold Coast
Slave Coast West
Slave Coast East
and Niger Delta
Ashanti
Dahomi
Yorubai
Safwhi
Eweawo
Ibadan
Denkera
Agotine
Ketu
Bekwai
Anfueh
Egba
Nkoranza
Krepe
Jebu
Adansi
Avenor
Remo
Assin
Awuna
Ode
Wassaw
Agbosomi
Ilorin
Ahanta
Aflao
Ijesa
Fanti
Ataklu
Ondo
Agona
Krikor
Mahin
Akwapim
Geng
Benin (Bini)
Akim
Attakpami
Kakanda
Akwamu
Aja
Wari
Kwaa
Ewemi
Iboi
Ga
Appa,
Efiki
Other traditions refer to a time when all were of one
speech, and lived in a far country beyond Salagha, open, flat,
with little bush, and plenty of cattle and sheep, a tolerably
accurate description of the inland Sudanese plateaux. But
then came a red people, said to be the Fulahs, Muhammadans,
who oppressed the blacks and drove them to take refuge in
the forests. Here they thrived and multiplied, and after
many vicissitudes they came down, down, until at last they
reached the coast, with the waves rolling in, the white foam
hissing and frothing on the beach, and thought it was all
boiling water until some one touched it and found it was not
hot, and so to this day they call the sea Eh-huru den o nni
1 N W. Thomas classifies Yoruba, Edo, Ibo and Efik as four main stocks in
the Western Sudanic language group. " In the Edo and Ibo stocks people only
a few miles apart may not be able to communicate owmg to diversity of language "
(p. 141). Anthropological Report of the Ibo-speaktng Peoples of Nigeria, Part I.
1913-
6o Man : Past and Present [ch.
shew, " Boiling water not hot," but far inland the sea is still
" Boiling water\"
To A. B. Ellis we are indebted especially for the true
explanation of the much used and abused term fetish, as
applied to the native beliefs. It was of course
SeSirrdnlss. already known to be not an African but a Portu-
'" guese word^ meaning a charm, amulet, or even
witchcraft. But Ellis shows how it came to be wrongly
applied to all forms of animal and' nature worship, and how
the confusion was increased by De Brosses' theory of a
primordial fetishism, and by his statement that it was im-
possible to conceive a lower form of religion than fetishism,
which might therefore be assumed to be the beginning of all
religion'.
On the contrary it represents rather an advanced stage, as
Ellis discovered after four or five years of careful observation
on the spot. A fetish, he tells us, is something tangible and
inanimate, which is believed to possess power in itself, and is
worshipped for itself alone. Nor can such an object be
picked up anywhere at random, as is commonly asserted, and
he adds that the belief "is arrived at only after considerable
progress has been made in religious ideas, when the older
form of religion becomes secondary and owes its existence to
the confusion of the tangible with the intangible, .of the
material with the immaterial ; to the belief in the indwelling
god being gradually lost sight of until the power originally
believed to belong to the god, is finally attributed to the
tangible and inanimate object itself."
But now comes a statement that may seem paradoxical to,
most students of the evolution of religious ideas. We are
assured that fetishism thus understood is not specially or at
all characteristic of the religion of the Gold Coast natives,
who are in fact " remarkably free from it " and believe in
invisible intangible deities. Some of them may dwell in a
tangible inanimate object, popularly called a "fetish"; but
the idea of the indwelling god is never lost sight of, nor is
^ The Tshi-speaJdng Peoples, p. 332 sq.
^ Feitigo, whence a\so feiHeeira, a vi'Ach.,feiiiceria, sorcery, .etc., all boia/eitigo,
artificial, handmade, from l.zX.fado a.nAfacHtius.
* Du Culte des Dieux FiUches^ 1760. It is generally supposed that the word
was invented, or at least first introduced, by De Brosses ; but Ellis shows that this
also is a mistake, as it had already been used by Sosman in his DescHption of
Guinea, London, 1705.
in] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 6i
the object ever worshipped for its own sake. True fetishism,
the worship of such material objects and images, prevails, on
the contrary, far more "amongst the Negroes of the West
Indies, who have been christianised for more than half-a-
century, than amongst those of West Africa. Hence the
belief in Obeah, still prevalent in the West Indies, which
formerly was a belief in indwelling spirits which inhabited
certain objects, has now become a worship paid to tangible
and inanimate objects, which of themselves are believed to
possess the power to injure. In Europe itself we find
evidence amongst the Roman Catholic populations of the
South, that fetishism is a corruption of a former culte, rather
than a primordial faith. The lower classes there have con-
fused the intangible with the tangible, and believe that the
images of the saints can both see, hear and feel. Thus we
find the Italian peasants and fishermen beat and ill-treat their
images when their requests have not been complied with....
These appear to be instances of true fetishism \"
Another phase of religious belief in Upper Guinea is
ancestry worship, which has here been developed to a degree
unknown elsewhere. As the departed have to Ancestry
be maintained in the same social position beyond Worship and
the grave that they enjoyed in this world, they the "Customs."
must be supplied with slaves, wives, and attendants, each
according to his rank. Hence the institution of the so-called
" customs," or anniversary feasts of the dead, accompanied
by the sacrifice of human victims, regulated at first by the
status and afterwards by the whim and caprice of chiefs and
kings. In the capitals of the more powerful states, Ashanti,
Dahomey, Benin, the scenes witnessed at these sanguinary
rites rivalled in horror those held in honour of the Aztec
gods. Details may here be dispensed with on a repulsive
subject, ample accounts of which are accessible from many
sources to the general reader. In any case these atrocities
teach no lesson, except that most religions have waded through
blood to better things, unless arrested in mid-stream by the
intervention of higher powers, as happily in Upper Guinea,
where the human shambles of Kumassi, Abomeh, Benin and
most other places have now been swept away.
1 The Tshi-speaking Peoples, Ch. XII. p. 194 and passim. See also R. H.
Nassau, Fetichism in West Africa, 1904.
62 Man : Past and Present [ch.
On the capture of Benin by the English in 1897 a rare
and unexpected prize fell into the hands of ethnologists.
Here was found a large assortment of carved
Bronze"" ivories, woodwork, and especially a series of
about 300 bronze and brass plates or panels
with figures of natives and Europeans^ armed and in armour,
in full relief, all cast by the cire perdue process \ some bar-
baric, others, and especially a head in the round of a young
negress, showing high artistic skill. Many of these remark-
able objects are in the British Museum, where they have been
studied by C. H. Read and O. M. Dalton^ who are evidently
right in assigning the better class to the sixteenth century,
and to the aid, if not the hand, of some Portuguese artificers
in the service of the King of Benin. They add that "casting
of an inferior kind continues down to the present time," and it
may here be mentioned that armour has long been and is still
worn by the cavalry, and even their horses, in the Muham-
madan states of Central Sudan. " The chiefs [Kaskelldwa)
who serve as officers under the Sultan [of Bornu] and act as
his bodyguard wear jackets of chain armour and cuirasses of
coats of maiP." It is clear that metal casting in a large way
has long been practised by the semi-civilised peoples of Sudan.
Within the great bend of the Niger the veil, first slightly
raised by Barth in the middle of the nineteenth century,
. has now been drawn aside by L. G. Binger,
F. D. Lugard and later explorers. Here the
Mossi, Borgu and others have hitherto more or less success-
fully resisted the Moslem advance, and are consequently for
the most pairt little removed from the savage state. Ever^
the "Faithful" wear the cloak of Islam somewhat loosely,
and the level of their culture may be judged from the case of
the Imdm of Diulasu, who pestered Binger for nostrums
and charms against ailments, war", and misfortunes. What he
wanted chiefly to know was the names of Abraham's two
1 That is, from a wax mould destroyed in the casting. After the operation
details were often filled in by chasing or executed in repoussd work.
2 "Works of Art from Benin City," Journ. Anthr. Inst. February, 1898,
p. 362 sq. See H. Ling Roth, Great Benin, its Customs, etc., 1903.
^ A. Featherman, Social History of Mankind, The Nigritians, p. 281. See also
Reclus, French ed., Vol. Xll. p. 718 : " Les cavaliers portent encore la cuirasse
comme au moyen ige....Les chevaux sont recouverts de la meme mani6re." In
the mythical traditions of Buganda also there is reference to the fierce Wakedi
warriors clad in "iron armour" (Ch. IV.). Cf L. Frobenius, The Voice of Africa, 11.
191 3, pi. p. 608.
in] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 63
wives. " Tell me these," he would say, " and my fortune is
made for I dreamt it the other night; you must tell me ;
1 really must have those names or I'm lost\"
In some districts the ethnical confusion is considerable
and when Bmger arrived at the Court of the Mossi King
Baikary, he was addressed successively in Mossi, Hausa
bonghai, and Fulah, until at last it was discovered that
Mandmgan was the only native language he understood.
Waghadugu, capital of the chief Mossi state, comprises
several distmct quarters occupied respectively by Mandingans,
Marengas (Songhai), Zang-weros (Hausas), Chilmigos
(h ulahs), Mussulman and heathen Mossis, the whole population
scarcely exceedmg 5000. However, perfect harmony prevails,
the Mossi themselves being extremely tolerant despite the
long religious wars they have had to wage against the fanatical
Fulahs and other Muhammadan aggressors'.
Religious indifference is indeed a marked characteristic of
this people, and the case is mentioned of a nominal Mussul-
man prince who could even read and write, and
say his prayers, but whose two sons "knew African
nothing at pll," or, as we should say, were *^"°^*'"-
"Agnostics." One of them, however, it is fair to add, is
claimed by both sides, the Moslems asserting that he says
his prayers in secret, the heathens that he drinks dolo (palm-
wine), which of course no true believer is supposed ever to do.
Central Sudanese.
In Central Sudan, that is, the region stretching from the
Niger to Wadai, a tolerably clean sweep has been made of
the aborigines, except along the southern fringe
and in parts of the Chad basin. For many EthriTaUnd
centuries Islam has here been firmly established, Social
and in Negroland Isli,m is synonymous with a Relations,
greater or less degree of miscegenation. The native tribes
who resisted the fiery Arab or Tuareg or Tibu proselytisers
were for the most part either extirpated, or else driven to the
^ Du Niger au Golfe de Guinde, 1892, I. p. yji.
2 Early in the fourteenth century they were strong enough to carry the war
into the enemy's camp and make more than one successful expedition against
Timbuktu. At present the Mossi power is declining, and their territory has been
parcelled out between the British and French Sudanese hinterlands.
64 Man : Past and Present [ch.
southern uplands about the Congo-Chad water-parting. All
who accepted the Koran became merged with the conquerors
in a common negroid population, which supplied the new
material for the development of large social communities and
powerful political states.
Under these conditions the old tribal organisations were
in great measure dissolved, and throughout its historic period
of about a millennium Central Sudan is found mainly occupied
by peoples gathered together in a small number of political
systems, each with its own language and special institutions,
but all alike accepting I slim as the State religion. Such are
or were the Songhai empire, the Hausa States, and the
kingdoms of Bornu with Kanem and Baghirmi, and these
jointly cover the whole of Centlral Sudan as above defined.
Songhais^. How completely the tribe'' has merged in the
people'' may be inferred from the mere statement that,
although no longer an independent nation^ the
Do^n! negroid Songhais form a single ethnical group
of about two million souls, all of one speech
and one religion, and all distinguished by somewhat uniform
physical and mental characters. This territory lies mainly
about the borderlands between 'Sudan and the Sahara, stretch-
ing from Timbuktu east to the Asben oasis and along both
banks of the Niger from Lake Debo round to the Sokoto
confluence, and also at some points reaching as far as the
Hombori hills within the great bend of the Niger.
Here they are found in the closest connection with the
Ireghenaten ("mixed") Tuaregs, and elsewhere with other
Tuaregs, and with Arabs, Fulahs or Hausas', so that exclu-
sively Songhai communities are now somewhat rare. But
the bulk of the race is still concentrated in Gurma and in the
district between Gobo and Timbuktu, the two chief cities of
the old Songhai empire.
. They are a distinctly negroid people, presenting various
1 Also Sonrhay, gh and rh being Interchangeable throughout North Africa ;
Ghat and Rhat, Ghadames and Rhadames, etc. In the mouth of an Arab the
sound is that of the guttural c ghain, which is pronounced by the Berbers and
Negroes somewhat like the Northumberland burr, hence usually transliterated by
rh in non-Semitic words.
2 It should be noticed that these terms are throughout used as strictly defined
in Eth. Ch. I.
^ Earth's account of Wulu (iv. p. 299), " inhabited by Tawdrek slaves, who are
trilingues, speaking Temdshight as well as Songhay and Fulfulde," is at present
generally applicable, mutatis mutandis, to most of the Songhai settlements.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 65
shades of intermixture with the surrounding Hamites and
Semites, but generally of a very deep brown or songhai
blackish colour, with somewhat regular features Type and
and that peculiar long, black, and ringletty hair, Temperament,
which is so characteristic of Negro and Caucasic blends, as
seen amongst the Trarsas and Braknas of the Senegal, the
Bejas, Danakils, and many Abyssinians of the region between
the Nile and the Red Sea. Barth, to whom we still owe the
best account of this historical people, describes them as of a
dull, morose temperament, the most unfriendly and churlish
of all the peoples visited by him in Negroland.
This writer's suggestion that they may have formerly had
relations with the Egyptians' has been revived in an exag-
gerated form by M. F^lix Dubois, whose views
have received currency in England through ori^ns!
uncritical notices of his Timbouctou la Mystd-
rieuse (Paris, 1897). But there is no "mystery" in the
matter. The Songhai are a Sudanese people,
whose exodus from Egypt is a myth, and whose ThJori^
Kissur language, as it is called, has not the
remotest connection with any form of speech known to have
been at any time current in the Nile Valley'. Nor has it any
evident affinities with any group of African tongues. H. H.
Johnston regards the Songhai as the result of the mixing of
" the Libyan section of the Hamitic peoples, reinforced by
Berbers (Iberians) from Spain," with the pre-existing Fulah
type and the Negroids ; as also from the far earlier intercourse
between the Fulah and the Negro'.
The Songhai empire, like that of the rival Mandingans,
claims a respectable antiquity, its reputed founder Za-el-
Yemeni having flourished about 680 a.d. Za so„gi,ai
Kasi, fifteenth in succession from the founder, Records.
1 As so much has been made of Earth's authority in this connection, it may
be well to quote his exact words : " It would seem as if they (the Sonrhay) had
received in more ancient times, several institutions from the Egyptians, with
whom I'have no doubt, they maintained an intercourse by means of the energetic
inhabitants of Aujila from a relatively ancient period" (iv. p. 426). Barth, there-
fore does not bring the people themselves, or their language, from Eg:ypt, but only
some of their institutions, and that indirectly through the Aujila Oasis in Cyrenaica,
and it may be added that this intercourse with Aujila appears to date only from
^^T Hacquard et Dupuis,' Manuel de la langue Sofigay, parUe de Tombouctou
^ Sav, dans la 'boucle du Niger, i?^7, passim. . ., r.
3 ''A Survey of the Ethnographyof Africa," >«''«• ^^.J'- Anthr. Soc.ii.un. 1913,
p. 386. ^
K.
66 Man : Past and Present [ch.
was the first Muhammadan ruler (1009); but about 1326
the country was reduced by the Mandingans, and remained
throughout the fourteenth and a great part of the fifteenth
century virtually subject to the Mali empire, although
AH Killun, founder of the new Sonni dynasty, had acquired
a measure of independence about 1335-6. But the political
supremacy of the Songhai people dates only from about 1464,
when Sonni Ali, sixteenth of the Sonni dynasty, known in
history as "the great tyrant and famous miscreant," threw off
the Mandingan yoke, "and changed the whole face of this
part of Africa by prostrating the kingdom of Melle^" Under
his successor, Muhammad Askia^ "perhaps the greatest
sovereign that ever ruled over Negroland'," the Songhai
Empire acquired its greatest expansion, extending from the
heart of Hausaland to the Atlantic seaboard, and from the
Mossi country to the Tuat oasis, south of Morocco. Although
unfavourably spoken of by Leo Africanus, Askia is described
by Ahmed Bdb4 as governing the subject peoples " with
justice and equity, causing well-being and comfort to spring
up everywhere within the borders of his extensive dominions,
and introducing such of the institutions of Muhanimadan
civilisation as he considered might be useful to his subjects*."
Askia also made the Mecca pilgrimage with a great show
of splendour. But after his reign (1492-1529) the Songhai
power gradually declined, and was at last overthrown by
Mulay Hamed, Emperor of Morocco, in 159 1-2. Ahmed
Baba, the native chronicler, was involved in the ruin of his
people', and since then the Songhai nation has been broken
into fragments, subject here to Hausas, there to Fulahs, else-
where to Tuaregs, and, since the French occupation of
Timbuktu (1894),. to the hated Giaur.
Hausas. In everything that constitutes the real greatness
1 Barth, iv. pp. 593-4.
2 The Ischia of Leo Africanus, who tells us that in his time the " linguaggio
detto Sungai" was current even in the provinces of Walata and Jinni (vi. ch. 2).
This statement, however, like others made by Leo at second hand, must be
received with caution. In these districts Songhai may have been spoken by the
officials and some of the upper classes, but scarcely by the people generally, who
were of Mandingan speech.
3 Barth, iv. p. 414. * lb. p. 415.
^ Carried captive into Marakesh, although later restored to his beloved
Timbuktu to end his days in perpetuating the past glories of the Songhai nation ;
the one Negroid man of letters, whose name holds a worthy place beside those of
Leo Africanus, Ibn Khaldiin, El Tunsi, and other Hamitic writers.
in] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 67
of a nation, the Hausas may rightly claim preeminence
amongst all the peoples of Negroland. No The Hausas-
doubt early in the nineteenth century the his- their dominant
torical Hausa States, occupying the whole region ^°'='*' Position,
between the Niger and Bornu, were overrun and reduced by
the fanatical Fulah bands under Othman Dan Fodye. But
the Hausas, in a truer sense than the Greeks, "have captured
their rude conquerors^" for they have even largely assimilated
them physically to their own type, and the Hausa nationality
is under British auspices asserting its natural social, industrial
and commercial predominance throughout Central and even
parts of Western Sudan.
It could not well be otherwise, seeing that the Hausas
fornt a compact body of some five million peaceful and indus-
trious Sudanese, living partly in numerous farmsteads amid
their well-tilled cotton, indigo, pulse, and corn fields, partly
in large walled cities and great trading centres such as Kano^
Katsena, Yacoba, whose intelligent and law-abiding inhabi-
tants are reckoned by many tens of thousands. Their
melodious tongue, with a vocabulary containing Hausa Speech
perhaps 10,000 words', has long been the great and Mental
medium of intercourse throughout Sudan from Q"^**'^^-
^ "Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit, et artes
Intulit agresti Latio." Hor. Epist. il. i, 156-7.
The epithet agrestis is peculiarly applicable to the rude Fulah shepherds, who
were almost barbarians compared with the settled, industrious, and even cultured
Hausa populations, and whose oppressive rule has at last been relaxed by the
intervention of England in the Niger-Benue lands.
^ " One of their towns, Kano, has probably the largest rtiarket-place in the
world, with a daily attendance of from 25,000 to 30,000 people. This same town
possesses, what in central Africa is still more surprising, some thirty or forty
schools, in which the children are taught to read and write " (Rev. C. H. Robinson,
Specimens of Hausa Literature, University Press, Cambridge, 1896, p. x).
^ See C. H. Robinson, Hausaland, or Fifteen Hundred Miles through the
Central Soudan, l8g6 ; Specitnens of Hausa Literature, 1896 ; Hausa Grammar,
1897 ; Hausa Dictionary, 1899. Authorities are undecided whether to class Hausa
with the Semitic or the Hamitic family, or in an independent group by itself, and
it must be admitted that some of its features are extremely puzzling. While
Sudanese Negro in phonology and perhaps in most of its word roots, it is Hamitic
in its grammatical features and pronouns. But the Hamitic element is thought
by experts to be as much Kushite, or even Koptic, as Libyan. " On the whole, it
seems probable," says H. H. Johnston, " that the Hausa speech was shaped by a
double influence : from Egypt, and Hamiticized Nubia, as well as by Libyan
immigrants from across the Sahara." " A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa,"
Journ. Roy. Anthr. Soc. XLlll. 1913, p. 385. Cf. also Julius Lippert, "Ober die
Stellung der Hausasprache," Mitteilungen des Seminars fUr Orientalische Sprachen,
1906. It is noteworthy that Hausa is the only language in tropical Africa which
has been reduced to writing by the natives themselves.
5—2
68 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Lake Chad to and beyond the Niger, and is daily acquiring
even greater preponderance amongst all the settled and trading
populations of these regions.
But though showing a marked preference for peaceful
pursuits, the Hausas are by no means an effeminate people.
Largely enlisted in the British service^ they have at all times
shown fighting qualities of a high order under their English
officers, and a well-earned tribute has been paid to their
military prowess amongst others by Sir George Goldie and
Lieut. Vandeleur^- With the Hausas on her side England
need assuredly fear no rivals to her beneficent sway over the
teeming populations of the fertile plains and plateaux of'
Central Sudan, which is on the whole perhaps the most
favoured land in Africa north of the equator.
According to the national traditions, which go back to no
very remote period^ the seven historical Hausa States known
„. . as the "Hausa bokoy" ("the seven Hausas")
Hausa Origins. i i • r i i
take their name trom the eponymous heroes
Biram, Daura, Gober, Kano, Rano, Katsena and Zegzeg, all
said to be sprung from the Deggaras, a Berber tribe settled
to the north of Munyo. From Biram, the original seat, the
race and its language spread to seven other provinces —
Zanfara, Kebbi, Nupe {Nyffi), Gwari, Yauri, Yariba and
Kororofa, which in contempt are called the " B^nza bokoy '.'
("the seven Upstarts"). All form collectively the Hausa
domain in the widest sense.
Authentic history is quite recent, and even Komayo,
reputed founder of Katsena; dates only from about the
fourteenth century. Ibrahim Maji, who was the first Moslem
ruler, is assigned to the latter part of the fifteenth century,
and since then the chief events have been associated with the
Fulah wars, ending in the absorption of all the Hausa States
in the unstable Fulah empire of Sokoto at the beginning of
the nineteenth century. With the fall of Kano and Sokoto
' Campaigning on the Upper Nile and Niger, by Lt Seymour Vandeleur, with
an Introduction by Sir George Goldie, 1898. "In camp," writes Lt Vandeleur,
" their conduct was exemplary, while pillaging and ill-treatment of the natives were
unknown. As to their fighting qualities, it is enough to say that, little over 500
strong (on the Bida expedition of 1897), they withstood for two days 25,000 or
30,000 of the enemy ; that, former slaves of the Fulahs, they defeated their
dreaded masters," etc. . •
2 The Kano Chronicle, translated by H. R. Palmer, Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst.
XXXVIII. 1908, gives a list of Hausa kings (Sarkis) from 999 a.d.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 69
in 1903 British supremacy was finally established throughout
the Hausa States, now termed Northern Nigeria'.
Kanembu; Kanuri^ \ Baghirmi, Mosgu. Round about
the shores of Lake Chad are grouped three other historical
Muhammadan nations, the Kanembu (" People ^,, . , .
c fjr jj\ 1 1 1 Tjr ■ ^ r T^ Ethmcal and
.ot Kanem ) on the north, the Kanuri of Bornu PoUticai Reia-
on the west, and the Baghirmi on the south tionsinthe
side. The last named was conquered by the ChadBasm.
Sultan of Wadai in 1871, and overrun by Rabah Zobeir,
half Arab, half Negro adventurer, in 1890. But in 1897
Emile GentiP, French commissioner for the district, placed
the country under French protection, although French au-
thority was not firmly established until the death of Rabah
and the rout of his sons in 190 1. At the same time Kanem
was brought under French control, and shortly afterwards
Bornu was divided between Great Britain, France and
Germany.
In this region the ethnical relations are considerably more
complex than in the Hausa States. Here I slim has had
greater obstacles to contend with than on the more open
western plateaux, and many of the pagan aborigines have
been able to hold their ground either in the archipelagos of
Lake Chad ( Yedinas, Kuri, Buduma*), or in the swampy
tracts and uplands of the Logon-Shari basin [Mosgu, Mandara,
Makari, etc.).
It was also the policy of the Muhammadans, whose system
is based on slavery, not to push their religious zeal too far,
for, if all the natives were converted, where ^ ^^ . .
1,1 1 r 1 The Abongines.
could they procure a constant supply 01 slaves,
those who accept the teachings of the Prophet being ipso
facto entitled to their freedom ? Hence the pagan districts
1 For references to recent literature see note on p. 58. Also R. S. Rattray,
Hausa Folk-lore, 1913 ; A. J. N. Tremearne, Hausa Superstitions and Customs,
1913, and Hausa Folk-Tales, 19 1 4.
2 By a popular etymology these are Ka-N-Ari, " People of Light." But, as they
are somewhat lukewarm Muhammadans, the zealous Fulahs say it should be
Ka-Nari, " People of Fire," i.e. foredoomed to Gehenna !
^ E. Gentil, La Chute deV Empire de Rabah, 1902.
* The Buduma, who derive their legendary origin from the Fulahs whom they
resemble in physique, worship the Karraka tree (a kind of acacia). P. A. Talbot,
"The Buduma of Lake Cha.A," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLI. 19U. The anthro-
pology of the region has lately been dealt with in Documents Scientifiques de la
Mission Tilho {iqob-q), R^publique Franqaise, Ministire des Colonies, Vol. III. 1914 ;
R. Gaillard and L. Poutrin, itude anthropologique des Populations des Rigions du
Tchad et du Kanem, 1914.
yo Man : Past and Present [ch.
were, and still are, regarded as convenient preserves, happy
hunting-grounds to be raided from time to time, but not
utterly wasted ; to rbe visited by organised razzias just often
enough to keep up the supply in the home and foreign
markets. This system, controlled by the local governments
themselves, has long prevailed about the border-
isiimand \axvAs between Islam and heathendom, as we
neatnenaom, , . -r-. , -^t i . i i
know from Barth, Nachtigal, and one or two
other travellers, who have had reluctantly to accompany the
periodical slave-hunting expeditions from Bornu and Baghirmi
to the territories of the pagan Mosgu people with their
numerous branches {Margi, Mandara, Makari, Logon,
Gamergu, Keribind) and the other aborigines (Bede, Ngisem,
So, Kerrikerri, Babir) on the northern slopes of the Congo-
Chad water-parting. As usual on such occasions, there is a
. great waste of life, many perishing in defence
un ing. ^^ their homes or even through sheer wanton-
ness, besides those carried away captives. "A large. number
of slaves had been caught this day," writes Barth, "and in
the evening a great many more were. brought in ; altogether
they were said to have taken one thousand, and there were
certainly not less than five hundred. To our utmost horror,
not less than 1 70 full-grown men were mercilessly slaughtered
in cold blood, the greater part of them being flowed to bleed
to death, a leg having been severed from the body\" There
was probably just then a glut in the market.
A curious result of these relations is that in the wooded
districts some of the natives have reverted to arboreal habits,
taking refuge during the raids in the branches
Strongholds °^ huge bombax- trees converted into temporary
strongholds. Round the vertical stem of these
forest giants is erected a breast-high look-out, while the
higher horizontal branches, less exposed to the fire of the
enemy, support strongly-built huts and store-houses, where
the families of the fugitives take refuge with their effects,
including, as Nachtigal assures us^ their domestic animals,
such as goats, dogs, and poultry. During the siege of the
aerial fortress, which is often successfully defended, long
light ladders of withies are let down at night, when no attack
need be feared, and the supply of water and provisions is
' III. p. 194. ^ Sahara and Sudan, II. p. 628.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 7 1
thus renewed from caches or hiding-places round about. In
1872 Nachtig^l accompanied a predatory excursion to the
pagan districts south of Baghirmi, when an attack was made
on one of these tree-fortresses. Such citadels can be stormed
.only at a heavy, loss, and as the Gaberi (Baghirmi) warriors
had no tools capable of felling the great bombax-tree, they
were fain to rest satisfied with picking off a poor wretch now
and then, and barbarously mutilating the bodies as they fell
from the overhanging branches.
Some of these aborigines disfigure their faces by the disk-
like lip-ornament, which is also fashionable in Nyassaland,
and even amongst the South American Boto-
cudos. The type often differs greatly, and while f^^dT^JStl
some of the widespread Mosgu tribes are of a
dirty black hue, with disagreeable expression, wide open
nostrils, thick lips, high cheek-bones, coarse bushy hair, and
disproportionate knock-kneed legs, other members of the
same family astonished Barth " by the beauty and symmetry
of their forms, and by the regularity of their features, which
in some had nothing of what is called the Negro type. But
I was still more astonished at their complexion, which was
very different in different individuals, being in some of a
glossy black, and in others of a light copper, or rather rhubarb
colour, the intermediate shades being almost entirely wanting.
I observed in one house a really beautiful female who, with
her son, about eight or nine years of age, formed a most
charming group, well worthy of the hand of an accomplished
artist. The boy's form did not yield in any respect to the
beautiful symmetry of the most celebrated Grecian statues.
His hair, indeed, was very short and curled, but not woolly.
He, as well as his mother and the whole family, were of a
pale or yellowish-red complexion, like rhubarbs"
There is no suggestion of albinism, and the explanation
of such strange contrasts must await further exploration in
the whole of this borderland of Negroes and Bantus about
the divide between the Chad and the Congo basins. The
country has until lately been traversed only at rare intervals
by pioneers, interested more in political than in anthropo-
logical matters.
Of the settled and more or less cultured peoples in the
1 n. pp. 382-3.
72 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Chad basin, the most important are the Kanembu^, who
The Cultured introduce a fresh element of confusion in this
Peoples of region, being more allied in type and speech
Central Sudan. ^^ jj^^ Hamitic Tibus than to the Negro stock,
or at least taking a transitional position between the two ; the
Kanuri, the ruling people in Bornu, of somewhat coarse
Negroid appearance'; and the southern Baghirmi, also
decidedly Negroid, originally supposed to have come from
the Upper Shari and White Nile districts'. Their civilisation,
such as it is, has been developed exclusively under Moslem
influences, but it has never penetrated much below the
surface. The people are everywhere extremely rude, and for
the most part unlettered, although the meagre and not alto-
gether trustworthy Kanem-Bornu records date from the time
of Sef, reputed founder of the monarchy about 800 a.d.
Duku, second in descent from Sef, is doubtfully
rSs^ °'"" referred to about 850 a.d. Ham^ founder of a
new dynasty, flourished towards the end of the
eleventh century (1086-97), and Dunama, one of his suc-
cessors, is said to have Extended his sway over a great part
of the Sahara, including the whole of Fezzan (1221-59).
Under Omar (1394-98) a divorce took place between Kanem
and Bornu, and henceforth the latter country has remained
the chief centre of political power in the Chad basin.
A long series of civil wars was closed by AH (1472-1504),
who founded the present capital, Birni, and whose grandson,
Muhammad, brought the empire of Bornu to the highest
pitch of its greatness (1526-45). Under Ahmed (1793-
^ That is " Kanem-men," the postfix bu, be, as in Ti-bu, Ful-be, answering to
the Bantu prefix ba, wa, as in Ba-Suto, Wa-Swahili, etc. Here may possibly be
discovered a link between the Sudanese, Teda-Daza, and Bantu linguistic groups.
The transposition of the agglutinated particles would present no difificulty ; cf.
Umbrian and Latin {Eth. p. 214). The Kanembu are described by Tilho, who ex-
plored the Chad basin, 1906-9. His reports were published in 19 14. Ripublique
Franqaise Ministire des Colonies, Documents Scientifiques de- la Mission Tilho
(1906-9), Vol. III. 1914.
^ Barth draws a vivid picture of the contrasts, physical and mental, between
the Kanuri and the Hausa peoples ; " Here we took leave of Hausa with its fine
and beautiful country, and its cheerful and industrious population. It is remark-
able what a difference there is between the character of the ba-Haushe and the
Kanuri — the former lively, spirited, and cheerful, the latter melancholic, dejected,
and brutal ; and the same difference is visible in their physiognomies — the former
having in general very pleasant and regular features, and more graceful forms,
while the Kanuri, with his broad face, his wide nostrils, and his large bones, makes
a far less agreeable impression, especially the women, who are very plain and
certainly among the ugliest in all Negroland" (11. pp. 163-4).
^ See Nachtigal, II. p. 690.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 73
1 8 10) began the wars with the Fulahs, who, after bringing the
empire to the verge of ruin, were at last overthrown by the
aid of the Kanem people, and since 1819 Bornu has been
ruled by the present Kanemfyin dynasty, which though tem-
porarily conquered by Rabah in 1893, was restored under
British administration in 1902'.
Eastern Sudanese.
As some confusion prevails regarding the expression
" Eastern Sudan," I may here explain that it bears a very
different meaning, according as it is used in a Range of the
political or an ethnical sense. Politically it is Negro in East-
practically synonymous with Egyptian Sudan, ^^ Sudan,
that is the whole region from Darfur to the Red Sea which
was ruled or misruled by the Khedivial Government before
the revolt of the Mahdi (1883-4), and was restored to Egypt
by the British occupation of Khartum in 1898. Ethnically
Eastern Sudan comprises all the lands east of the Chad
basin, where the Negro or Negroid populations are predomi-
nant, that is to say, Wadai, Darfur, and Kordofan in the
West, the Nile Valley from the frontier of Egypt proper
south to Albert Nyanza, both slopes of the Nile-Cong'o
divide (the western tributaries of the White Nile and the
Welle- Makua affluent of the Congo), lastly the Sobat Valley
with some Negro enclaves east of the White Nile, and even
south of the equator (Kavirondo, Semliki Valley).
Throughout this region the fusion of the aborigines with
Hamites and Arabs, Tuareg, or Tibu Moslem intruders,
wherever they have penetrated, has been far .j.. j, ^
less complete than in Central and Western
Sudan. Thus in Wadai the dominant Maba people, whence
the country is often called Dar-Maba (" Mabaland"), are
rather Negro than Negroid, with but a slight Ethnical
strain of foreign blood. In the northern dis- Relations in
tricts the Zoghdwa, Gura'an, Ba'ele and Bulala Wadai.
Tibus keep quite aloof from the blacks, as do elsewhere the
Aramkas, as the Arabs are collectively called in Wadai. Yet
the Mahamid and some other Bedouin tribes have here been
1 For recent literature see Lady Lugard's.<4 Tropical Dependency, 1905, and the
references, note 3, p. 58-
74 Man : Past ana Present [ch.
settled for over 500 years, and it was through their assistance
that the Mabas acquired the political supremacy they have
enjoyed since the seventeenth century, when they reduced or
expelled the Tynjurs^, the former ruling race, said to be
Nubians originally from Dongola. It was Abd-el-Kerim,
founder of the new Moslem Maba' state, who gave the country
its present name in honour of his grandfather, Wadat. His
successor Khariib I removed the seat of government to
Wara, where Vogel was murdered in 1856. Abeshr, the
present capital, dates only from the year 1850. Except for
Nachtigal, who crossed the frontier in 1873, nothing was
known of the land or its people until the French occupation
at the end of the last century ( 1 899). Since that date it has
been prominent as the scene of the attack on a French
column and the death of its leader, Colonel Moll, in 19 10,
and the tragic murder of Lieutenant Boyd Alexander earlier
in the same yearl
Nubas. As in Wadai, the intruding and native popula-
tions have been either imperfectly or not at all assimilated in
Darfur and Kordofan, where the Muhammadan
^o\tem'!'^ Semites still boast of their pure Arab descent',
and form powerful confederacies. Chief among
these are the Baggara (Baqqara, " cow-herds "), cattle-keepers
and agriculturalists, of whom some are as dark as the blackest
negroes, though many are fine-looking, with regular, well-
shaped features. Their form of Arabic is notoriously corrupt.
Their rivals, the Jaalan (Jalin, Jahalin), are mostly riverain
^ These are the same people as the Tunjurs {Turners) of Darfur, regarding
whose ethnical position so much doubt still prevails. Strange to say, they them-
selves claim to be Arabs, and the claim is allowed by their neighbours, although
they are not Muhammadans. Lejean thinks they are Tibus from the north-west,
while Nachtigal, who met some as far west as Kanem, concluded from their appear-
ance and speech that they were really Arabs settled for hundreds of years in the
country {op. cit. ll. p. 256).
^ A. H. Keane, "Wadai," Travel and Exploration, July, 1910 ; and
H. H. Johnston, on Lieut. Boyd Alexander, Geog. Journ. same date.
^ H. A. MacMichael has investigated the value of these racial claims in the
case of the Kababish and indicates. the probable admixture of Negro, Mediter-
ranean, Hamite and other strains in the Siidanese Arabs. He says, " Among the
more settled tribes any important sheikh or faki can produce a table of his
ancestors {i.e. a nisbd) in support of his asseverations ...I asked a village sheikh if
he could show me his pedigree, as I did not know from which of the exalted
sources his particular tribe claimed descent. He replied that he did not know
yet, but that his village had subscribed 60 piastres the month before to hire a faki
to compose a nisbaior them, and that he would show me the result when it was
finished." " The Kababish : Some Remarks on the Ethnology of a Sudan Arab
Trihe," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910, p. 216.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 75
"Arabs," a learned tribe, containing many scribes, and their
language is said to be closer to classical Arabic than the form
current in Egypt. These are the principal slave-hunters of
the Sudan, and the famous Zobeir belonged to their tribe.
The Yemaniek are largely traders, and trace their origin
from South Arabia. The Kababisk are the wealthiest camel-
owning tribe, perhaps less contaminated by negro blood than
any other Arab tribe in the Sudani The Nuba and the
Nubians have been a source of much confusion, but recent
investigations in the field such as those of C. G. Seligman^
and H. A. MacMichaeP, and the publications of the Archaeo-
logical Survey of Nubia conducted by G. A. Reisner, help to
elucidate the problem. We have first of all to get rid of the
" Nuba-Fulah " family, which was introduced by Fr. Miiller
and accepted by some English writers, but has absolutely
no existence. The two languages, although both of the
agglutinative Sudanese type, are radically distinct in all their
structural, lexical, and phonetic elements, and the two peoples
are equally distinct. The Fulahs are of North African origin,
although many have in recent times been largely a,ssimilated
to their black Sudanese subjects. ,The Nuba on the contrary
belong originally to the Negro stock, with hair of the common
negro type, and are among the darkest skinned tribes in the
Sudan, their colour varying from a dark chocolate brown to
the darkest shade of brown black.
But rightly to understand the question we have carefully
to avoid confusion between the Nubians of the Nile Valley
and the Negro Nubas, who gave their name to the Nuba
Mountains, Kordofan, where most of the aborigines {Kargo,
Kulfan, Kolaji, Tumali, Lafofa, Eliri, Talodi) still belong
to this connection'. Kordofan is probably itself a Nuba
word meaning." Land of the Kordo" (/^« = Arab, ddr, land,
country). There is a certain amount of anthropological
evidence to connect the Nuba with the Fur and the Kara of
Darfur to the west'. But it is a different anthropological
type that is represented in the three groups of Matokki
1, See the Kababish types, PL xxxvil. in C. G. Seligman's " Some Aspects of the
Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLlll.
1 913, but cf. also p. 626 and n. 2.
2 "The Physical Characters of the Nuba cSf Kordofan," Journ. Roy. Anthr.
Inst. XL. 1910, "Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem," etc., torn. cit. xuii. 1913.
3 See H. A. MacMichael, The Tribes of Northern and Central Kordofdn, 1912.
* Cf. A. W. Tucker and C. S. Myers, "A Contribution to the Anthropology of
the Sudan," yb«r«. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910, p. 149.
76 Man : Past and Present [ch.
{Kenus) between the First Cataract and Wadi-el-Arab, the
Mahai {Marisi) between Korosko and Wadi- Haifa, at the
Second Cataract, and the Dongolawi, of the province of
Dongola between Wadi-Halfa and Jebel Deja near Meroe.
These three groups, all now Muhammadans, but formerly
Christians, constitute collectively' the so-called " Nubians " of
European writers, but call themselves Barabra,
^SStie^"^ plural of Berberi, i.e. people of Berber, although
they do not at present extend so far up the
Nile as that town\ Possibly these are Strabo's " Noubai,
, who dwell on the left bank of the Nile in Libya [Africa], a
great nation etc.^ " ; and are also to be identified with the
Nobatae, who in Diocletian's time were settled, some in the
Kharga oasis, others in the Nile Valley about Meroe, to
guard the frontiers of the empire against the incursions of
the restless Blemmues. But after some time they appear to
have entered into peaceful relations with these Hamites, the
present Bejas, even making common cause with them against
the Romans ; but the confederacy was crushed by Maximinus
in 451, though perhaps not before crossings had taken place
between the Nobatae and the Caucasic Bejas. Then these
Bejas withdrew to their old homes, which they still occupy,
between the Nile and the Red Sea above Egypt, while
the Nobatae, embracing Christianity, as is said, in 545,
established the powerful kingdom of Dongola which lasted
over 800 year's, and was finally overthrown by the Arabs Jn
the fourteenth century, since which time the Nile Nubians
have been Muhammadans.
There still remains the problem of language which, as
shown by Lepsius^ differs but slightly from that now current
amongst the Kordofan Nubas. But this similarity only
holds in the north, and is now shown to be dug to Berberine
1 This term, however, has by some authorities been identified with the Barabara,
one of the 113 tribes recorded in the inscription on a gateway of Thutmes, by
whom they were reduced about 1700 B.C. In a later inscription of Rameses II
at Karnak (1400 B.C.) occurs the form Beraberata, name of Jt southern people
conquered by him. Hence Brugsch {Reisebericht aus jEgypten, pp. 127 and 155) is
inclined to regard the modern Barabra as a true ethnical name confused in
classical times with the Greek and Roman Barbarus, but revived in its proper
sense since the Moslem conquest. See also the editorial note on the term Berber,
in the new English ed. of Leo Africanus, Vol. I. p. 199.
^ 'E| dpi(TTfp&v fie pvaeas tov NffXovi NoOjSai KarotKova-tv ev rfj Ai^vrj, /iiya edvos, etc.
(Book XVII. p. Ill 7, Oxford ed. 1807). Sayce, therefore, is quite wrong in stating
that Strabo knew only of " Ethiopians," and.not Nubians, "as dwelling northward
along the banks of the Nile as far as Elephantine " {Academy, April 14, 1894).
* Nubische Grammatik, 1S81, passim.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 77
immigration into Kordofan'. Recent investigations show
that the Nuba and the Barabra, in spite of this linguistic
similarity which has misled certain authors", are not to be
regarded as belonging to the same race^ " The Nuba are a
tall, stoutly built muscular people, with a dark, almost black
skin. They are predominantly mesaticephalic, for although
cephalic indices under 70 and over 80 both occur, nearly
60 per cent, of the individuals measured are mesaticephals,
the remaining being dolichocephalic and brachycephalic in
about equal proportions." The hair is invariably woolly.
The Barabra, on the contrary, is of slight, or more commonly
medium build, not particularly muscular and in skin colour
varies from a yellowish to a chocolate browii. The hair is
commonly curly or wavy and may be almost straight, while
the features are not uncommonly absolutely non-Negroid.
" Thus there can be no doubt that the two peoples are
essentially different in physical characters and the same holds
good on the cultural side " (p. 611). Barabra were identified
by Lepsius with the Wawat, a people frequently mentioned
in Egyptian records, and recent excavations by the members
of the Archaeological Survey of Nubia show a close connec-
tion with the predynastic Egyptians, a connection supported
also on physical grounds. It seems strange, therefore, to
meet with repeated reference on Egyptian monuments to
Negroes in Nubia when, as proved by excavations, the in-
habitants were by no means Negroes or even frankly Negroid.
Seligman's solution of the difficulty is as follows (p. 619).
It seems that only one explanation is tenable, namely that for
a period subsequent to the Middle Kingdom the country in
the neighbourhood of the Second Cataract became essentially
a Negro country and may have remained in this condition
for some little time. Then a movement in the opposite
direction set in ; the Negroes, diminished by war, were in
part driven back by the great conquerors of the New Empire ;
those that were left mixed with the Egyptian garrisons and
traders and once more a hybrid race arose which, however,
1 B. Z. Seligman, "Note on the Languages of the Nubas of S. Kordofan,"
ZeiUchr. f. Kol.-spr. I. 1910-11 ; C. G. Seligman, "Some Aspects of the Hamitic
Problem," etc., Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLlll. 1913, p. 621 ff.
2 See A. H. Keane, Man, Past and Present, 1900, p. 74.
' C. G. Seligman, "The Physical Characters of the Nuba of Kordofan," /(!i«^«.
Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910, p. 512, and "Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem,"
eic.,/ourn. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLiii. igi3, passim.
78 Man : Past and Present [ch.
preserved the language of its Negro ancestors. Although
Seligman regards the conclusion that this race gave rise
directly to the present-day inhabitants of Nubia as "pre-
mature," and suggests further mixture with the Beja of
the eastern deserts, Elliot Smith recognises the essential
similarity between, the homogeneous blend of Egyptian
and Negro traits which characterise the Middle Nubian
people (contemporary with the Middle Empire, XII-XVII
dynasties), a type which " seems to have remained dominant
in Nubia ever since then, for the span of almost 4000
years .
Before the incursions of the Nubian- Arab traders and
raiders, who began to form settlements {zeribas, fenced sta-,
tions) in the Upper Nile regions above Khartum
Peoples of the about the middle of the nineteenth century,
Nile-Congo most of the Nile-Congo divide (White Nile
Watersheds. tributaries and Welle- Makua basin) belonged in
the strictest sense to the Negro domain. Sudanese tribes,
and even great nations reckoned by millions, had been for
ages in almost undisturbed possession, not only of the main
stream from the equatorial lakes to and beyond the Sobat
junction, but also of the Sobat Valley itself, and of the
numerous south-western head-waters of the White Nile con-
verging about Lake No above the Sobat junction. Nearly
all the Nile peoples — the Shilluks and Dinkas about the
Sobat confliience, the Bari and Nuers of the Bahr-el-Jebel,
the Bongos [Dors), Rols, Golos, Mittus, Madis, Makarakas,
Abakas, Mundus, and many others about the western affluents,
as well as the Funj of Senaar — had been brought under the
Khedivial rule before the revolt of the Mahdi.
The same fate had already overtaken or was threatening
the formerly powerful Mombuttu [Mangbattu) and Zandeh^
nations of the Welle lands, as well as the Krej and others
about the low watersheds of the Nile-Congo and Chad basins.
Since then the Welle groups have been subjected to the
jurisdiction of the Congo Free State, while the
Rel^^^ns political destinies of the Nilotic tribes must
henceforth be controlled by the British masters
of the Nile lands from the Great Lakes to the Mediterranean.
Although grouped as Negroes proper, very few of the
1 Archaeological Survey of India, Bull. in. p. 25.
2 See note i, p. 44.
Ill] The African Negro : I. Sudanese 79
Nilotic peoples present the almost ideal type of the blacks,
such as those of Upper Guinea and the Atlantic coast of
W^st Sudan. The complexion is in general less black, the
nose less broad at the base, the lips less everted (Shilluks
and one or two others excepted), the hair rather less frizzly,
the dolichocephaly and prognathism less marked.
Apart from the more delicate shades of transition, due to
diverse interminglings with Hamites and Semites, two dis-
tinct types may be plainly distinguished — one
black, often very tall, with long thin legs, and ^^"s!'''^''*'*'
long-headed (Shilluks, Dinkas, Bari, Nuers,
Alur), the other reddish or ruddy brown, more thick-set,
and short-headed {Bongos, Golos, Makarakas, with the
kindred Zandehs of the Welle region). No explanation has
been offered of their brachycephaly, which is all the more
difficult to account for, inasmuch as it is characteristic neither
. of the aboriginal Negro nor of the intruding Hamitic and
Semitic elements. Have we here an indication of the transi-
tion suspected by many between the true long-headed Negro
and the round-headed Negrillo, who is also brownish, and
formerly ranged as far north as the Nile head-streams, as
would appear from the early Egyptian records (Chap. IV.) ?
Schweinfurth found that the Bongos were " hardly removed
from the lowest grade of brachycephaly \" and the same is
largely true of the Zandehs and their Makaraka cousins, as
noticed by Junker : " The skull also in many of these peoples
approaches the round form, whereas the typical Negro is
assumed to be long-headed I" But so great is the diversity
of appearance throughout the whole of this region, including
even "a striking Semitic type," that this observer was driven
to the conclusion that "woolly hair, common to all, forms in
fact the only sure characteristic of the Negro'."
Dinka is the name given to a congeries of independent
tribes spread over a vast area, stretching from 300 miles
south of Khartum to within 100 miles of Gon-
, , , 1 . -1 1 The Dinka.
dokoro, and reachmg many miles to the west m
the Bahr-el-Ghazal Province. All these tribes according to
C. G. Seligman* call themselves Jieng or Jenge, corrupted
' Op. cit. I. p. 263.
2 Travels in Africa, Keane's English ed., Vol. in. p. 247.
3 Ibid. p. 246.
* C. G. Seligman, Art. "Dinka," Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.
8o Man : Past and Present [ch.
by the Arabs into Dinka ; but no Dinka nation has arisen,
for the tribes have never recognised a supreme chief, as do
their neighbours, the Shilluk, nor have they even been unitqd
under a military despot, as the Zulu were united under
Chaka. They differ in manners and customs and even in
physique and are often at war with one another. One of the
most obvious distinctions in habits is between the relatively
powerful cattle-owning Dinka and the small and comparatively
poor tribes who have no cattle and scarcely cultivate the
ground, but live in the marshes in the neighbourhood of the
Sudd, and depend largely for their sustenance on fishing and
hippopotamus-hunting. Their villages, which are generally
dirty and evil-smelling, are built on ground which rises but
little above the reed-covered surface of the country. The
Dinka community is largely autonomous under leadership of
a chief or headman {bain) who is sometimes merely the local
magician, but in one community in each tribe he is the-
hereditary rain-maker whose wish is law. " Cattle form the
economic basis of Dinka society ;... they are the currency in
which bride-price and blood-fines are paid ; and the desire
to acquire a neighbour's herds is the common cause of those
inter-tribal raids which constitute Dinka warfare."
Some uniformity appears to prevail amongst the languages
of the Nile- Welle lands, and from the rather scanty materials
collected' by Junker, Fr. Miiller was able to
Groups^*^ construct an "Equatorial Linguistic Family,"
including the Mangbattu, Zandeh, Barmbo,
Madi, Bangba, Krej, Golo and others, on both sides of the
water-parting. Leo Reinisch, however, was not convinced,
and in a letter addressed to the author declared that " in the
absence of sentences it is impossible to determine the gram-
matical structure of Mangbattu and the other languages. 'At
the same time we may detect certain relations, not to the
Nilotic, but the Bantu tongues. It may therefore be inferred
that Mangbattu and the others have a tolerably close relation-
ship to the Baptu, and may even be remotely akin to it.
See also the same author's " Cult of Nyakangano the Divine Kings of the Shilluk,"
Fourth Report Wellcome Research Lab. Khartoum, Vol. B, 1911, p. ,216;
S. L. Cummins, Journ. Anthr. Inst, xxxiv. 1904, and H. O'SuUivan, " Dinka
Laws and Customs," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910. Measurements of Dinka,
Shilluk etc. are given by A. W. Tucker and C. S. Myers, " A Contribution to the
Anthropology of the Sudan," /owrw. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910. G. A. S. Northcote,
"The Nilotic Kavirondo," /^«r«. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvi. 1907, describes an allied
people, Xh&Jaluo.
Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 8i
judging from their tendency to prefix formations'." Future
research will show how far this conjecture is justified.
Although Islam has made considerable progress, through-
out the greater part of the Sudanese region, though not
among the Nilotic tribes, the bulk of the people
are still practically pagan. Witchcraft continues Qu^i^gg,
to flourish amongst the equatorial peoples,
and important events are almost everywhere attended by
sanguinary rites. These are absent among the true Nilotics.
The Dinka are totemic, with ancestor-worship. The Shilluk
have a cult of divine kings.
Cannibalism however, in some of its most repulsive forms,
prevails amongst the Zandehs, who barter in human fat as
a universal staple of trade, and amongst the
Mangbattu, who cure for future use the bodies
of the slain in battle and " drive their prisoners before them,
as butchers drive sheep to the shambles, and these are only
reserved to fall victims on a later day to their horrible and
sickly greedinessl"
In fact here we enter the true " cannibal zone," which, as
I have elsewhere shown, was in former ages diffused all over
Central and South Africa, or, it would be more
correct to say, over the whole continent ^ but 2one^*"'"''*'
has in recent times been mainly confined to "the
region stretching west and east from the Gulf of Guinea to
the western head-streams of the White Nile, and from below
the equator northwards in the direction of Adamdwa, Dar-
Banda and Dar-Fertit. Wherever explorers have penetrated
into this least-known region of the continent they have found
the practice fully established, not merely as a religious rite or
a privilege reserved for priests, but as a recognised social
institution',"
1 Travels in Africa, Keane's Eng. ed., ill. p. 279. Thus the Bantu Ba, iVa,
Ama, etc., correspond to the A of the Welle lands, as in A-Zandeh, A-Barmbo,
A-Madi, A-Bangba, i.e. Zandeh people, Barmbo people, etc. Cf. also Kanem^«,
T\bu, Ful^^, etc., where the personal particle {bu, be) is postfixed. It would almost
seem as if we had here a transition between the northern Sudanese and the southern
Bantu groups in the very region where such transitions might be looked for.
2 Schweinfurth, op. cit. 11. p. 93.
^ G. Elliot Smith denies that cannibalism occurred in Ancient Egypt, The
Ancient Egyptians, 191 1, p. 48.
* Africa, 1895, Vol. II. p. 58. In a carefully prepared monograph . on
" Endocannibalismus," Vienna, 1896, Dr Rudolf S. Steinmetz brings together a
great body of evidence tending to show " dass eine hohe Wahrscheinlichkeit dafiir
spricht den Endocannibalismus (indigenous anthropophagy) als standige Sitte
82 Man : Past and Present [CH.
Yet many of these cannibal peoples, especially the Mang-
battus and Zandehs, are skilled agriculturists, and cultivate
some of the useful industries, such as iron and
fnd^strtes. copper smelting and casting, weaving, pottery
and wogd-carving, with great success. The
form and ornamental designs of their utensils display real
artistic taste, while the temper of their iron implements is
often superior to that of the imported European hardware.
Here again the observation has been made that the tribes
most addicted to cannibalism also excel in mental qualities
and physical energy. Nor are they strangers to the finer
feelings of human nature, and above all the surrounding
peoples the Zandeh anthropophagists are distinguished by
their regard and devotion for their women and children.
In one respect all these peoples show a higher degree of
intelligence even than the Arabs and Hamites. "My later
jjj J, experiences," writes Junker, "revealed the re-
Appreciation of markable fact that certain negro peoples, such
Pictorial Art. ^g ^^ Niam-Niams, the Mangbattus and the
Bantus of Uganda and Unyoro, display quite a surprising
understanding of figured illustrations or pictures of plastic
objects, which is not as a rule exhibited by the Arabs and
Arabised Hamites of North-east Africa. Thus the Unyoro
chief, Riongo, placed photographs in their proper position,
and was able to identity the negro portraits as belonging to
the Shuli, Lango, or other tribes, of which he had a personal
knowledge. This I have called a remarkable fact, because
it bespoke in the lower races a natural faculty for observation,
a power to recognise what for many Arabs or Egyptians of
high rank was a hopeless puzzle. An Egyptian pasha in
Khartum could never make out how a human face in profile
showed only one eye and one ear, and he took the portrait of
a fashionable Parisian lady in extremely low dress for that of the
bearded sun-burnt American naval officer who had shown him
der Urmenschen, sowie der niedrigen Wilden anzunehmen" (pp. 59, 60). It is
surprising to learn from the ill-starred B6tt6go-Grixoni expedition of 1892-3 that
anthropophagy is still rife even in Gallaland, and amongst the white ("flcffidi")
Cormoso Gallas. Like the Fans, these prefer the meat "high," and it would
appear that all the dead are eaten. Hence in their country B6ttego found no
graves, and one of his native guides explained that " questa gente sepppUisce i suoi
cari nel ventre, invece che nella terra," i.e. these people bury their dear ones in
their stomach instead of in the ground. Vittorio Bijttego, Viaggi di Scoperta, etc
Home, 1895.
Ill] The African Negro: I. Sudanese 83
the photograph\" From this one is ahnost tempted to infer
that, amongst Moslem peoples, all sense of plastic, figurative,
or pictorial art has been deadened by the Koranic precept
forbidding the representation of the' human form in any way.
The Welle peoples show then^selves true Negroes in the
possession of another and more precious quality, the sense of
humour, although this is probably a quality
which comes late in the life of a race. Anyhow E^°®^ "^
!• • TVT 1 . . t • 1 Mumour.
It IS a distmct Negro characteristic, which
Junker was able to turn to good account during the building
of his famous Lacrima station in Ndoruma's country. "In
all this I could again notice how like children the Negroes
are in many respects. Once at work they seemed animated
by a sort of childlike sense of honour. They delighted in
praise, though even a frown or a word of reproach could also
excite their hilarity. Thus a loud burst of laughter would,
for instance, follow the contrast between a piece of good and
bad workmanship. Like children, they would point the
finger of scorn at each other I"
One morning Ndoruma, hearing that they had again
struck work, had the great war-drum beaten, whereupon they
rushed to arms and mustered in great force from all quarters.
But on finding that there was no enemy to march against,
and that they had only been summoned to resume operations
at the station, they enjoyed the joke hugely, and after a
general explosion of laughter at the way they had been taken
in, laid aside their weapons and returned cheerfully to work.
Some English overseers have already discovered that this
characteristic may be utilised far more effectively than the
cruel kurbash. Ethnology has many such lessons to teach.
1 I. p, 245. 2 ii_ p_ 140.
6—2
CHAPTER IV
THE AFRICAN NEGRO : II. BANTUS— NEGRILLOES—
BUSHMEN— HOTTENTOTS
The Sudanese-Bantu Divide — Frontier Tribes — The Bonjo Cannibals — The Baya
Nation— h. "Red People" — The North-East Door to Bantuland— Semitic
Elements of the Bantu Amalgam — Malay Elements in Madagascar only —
Hamitic Element everywhere — The Ba-Hima — Pastoral and Agricultural
Clans — The Bantus mainly a Negro-Hamitic Cross — Date of Bantu Migration
— The Lacustrians — Their Traditions— The Kintu Legend — The Ba-Ganda,
Past and Present — Political and Social Institutions — Totemic System — Bantu
Peoples between Lake Victoria and the Coast — The Wa-Giryama — Primitive
Ancestry-Worship — Mulungu — The Wa-Swahili — The Zang Empire — The
Zulu-Xosas — Former and Present Domain — Patriarchal Institutions — Genea-
logies— Physical Type — Social Organisation — "Common Law" — Ma-Shonas
and Ma-Kalakas — The mythical Monomotapa Empire — The Zimbabwe Ruins
— The Be-Chuanas — The Ba-Roise Empire — The Ma-Kololo Episode — Spread
of Christianity amongst the Southern Bantus — King Khama — The Ova-Herero —
Cattle and Hill Damaras — The Kongo People — Old Kongo Empire — The
Kongo Language — The Kongo Aborigines — Perverted Christian Doctrines —
The Kabindas and '■'■Black Jews" — The Ba-Shilange Bhang-smokers — The
Ba-Lolo "Men of Iron"— The West Equatorial '^sxAyxs—Ba-Kalai—The
Cannibal Fans — Migrations, Type, Origin — The Camerun Bantus — Bantu-
Sudanese Borderland — Early Bantu Migrations — Eastern Ancestry and
Western Nature-worshippers — Conclusion — Vaalpens — Strandloopers — Ne'
grilloes — Negrilloes at the Courts of the Pharaohs — Negrilloes and Pygmy
'Folklore — The Dume and Doko reputed Dwarfs — The Wandorobbo Hunters —
The Wochua Mimics — The Bushmen and Hottentots — Former and Present
Range — The Wa-Sandawi — Hottentot Geographical Names in Bantuland —
Hottentots disappearing — Bushman Folklore Literature — Bushman-Hottentot
Language and Clicks — Bushman Mental Characters — Bushman Race-Names. ,
' Conspectus.
Present Range. Bantu : S. Africa from the Sudanese
Distribution in frontier to the Cape; Negrillo : West Equatorial
Past and and Congo forest zones; Bush.- Hot. : Namaqua-
Present Tunes, i^nds ; Kalahari; Lake N garni and Orange
basins.
Hair, Bantu : same as Sudanese, but often rather longer;
Negrillo: short, frizzly or crisp, rusty brown; Bush.-Hot. :
CH. iv] The African Negro: II. 85
much the same as Sudanese, but tufty, simulating bald partings.
Colour. Bantu : all shades of dark brown,
sometimes almost black-, Negrillo and Bush.- characters.
Wot.: yellowish brown. Skull. ^anXn: generally
dolicho, but variable ; Negrillo : almost uniformly mesati ;
Bush.-Hot. : dolicho. Jaws. Bantu : moderately prognathous
and even orthognathous ; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: highly
prognathous. Cheek-bones. Bantu : moderately or not at
all prominent; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: very prominent,
often extremely so, forming a triangular face with apex at
chin. Nose. Bantu: variable, ranging from platyrrhine to
leptorrhine ; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: short, broad at base,
depressed at root, always platyrrhine. Eyes. Ba.nt\i: generally
large, black, and prom,inent, but also of regular Hamitic type ;
Negrillo and Bush.-Hot. : rather sm.all, deep brown and black.
Stature. Bantu: tall, from 172 m. to i'82 m. {5ft. 8 in.
to (>ft.); Negrillo: always much under i'52 m.. {5 ft.), mean
about I '2 2 m. (/\.ft.); Bushman: short, with rather wide
range, from, \'\2 m.. to i'57 m. {4 ft. 8 in. to sf- 2 in.);
Hot.: undersized, m€an 1*65 m-. {sf. 5 in.).
Temperament. Bantu : mainly like the Negroid Su-
danese, far more intelligent than the true Negro, equally
cruel, but less fitful and m,ore trustworthy;
Negrillo : bright, active and quick-witted, but characters
vindictive and treacherous, apparently not cruel
to each other, but rather gentle and kindly ; Bushman : in all
these respects very like the Negrillo, but more intelligent; Hot. :
rather dull and sluggish, but the full-blood {Nama) much less
so than the half-caste {Griqua) tribes.
Speech. Bantu : as absolutely, uniform as the physical
type is variable, one stock language only, of the agglutinating
order, with both class prefixes, alliteration and postfixes^;
Negrillo: unknown; Hot.: agglutinating with postfixes only,
with gram^maticai gender and other rem-arkable features ; oj
Hamitic origin.
Religion. Bantu : ancestor-worship mainly in the east,
spirit-worship m.ainly in the west, interm-ingling in the centre,
with witchcraft and gross superstitions everywhere ; Negrillo :
little known; Bush.-Hot.: animism, nature-worship, and
1 C. Meinhof holds that Proto-Bantu arose through the mixture of a Sudan
language with one akin to Fulah. An Introduction to the Study of African
Languages, 191 5, p. 151 sqq.
86 Man: Past and Present [ch.
reverence for ancestors ; among Hottentots belief in supreme
powers of good and evil.
Culture. Bantu : much lower than the Negroid Sudanese,
but higher than the true Negro; piincipall^ cattle rearers,
practising simple agriculture; Negrillo and Bush. : lowest
grade, hunters; Hot.: nomadic herdsmen.
Bantus': Bonjo; Baya; Ba-Ganda; Ba-Nyoro; Wa-
Pokomo; Wa-Giryama; Wa-Swahili; Zulu-Xosa; Ma'
Shona; Be-Chuana; Ova-Herero; Eshi-Kongo;
SSiohs Ba-Shilcbnge; Ba-Lolo; Ma-Nyema; Ba-Kalai;
Fan; Mpongwe; Dwala; Ba-Tanga.
Negrilloes: Akka; Wochua; Dume{f); Wandoro,bbo{?);
Doko{?); Obongo; Wambutte {Ba-Mbute);,Ba-Twa.
Bushmen : Family groups ; no known tribal names.
Hottentots: Wa-Sandawi (f); Nam^qua; Griqua;
Gonaqua; Koraqua; Hill Ddmaras.
In ethnology the only intelligible definition of a Bantu is
a full-blood or a half-blood Negro of Bantu speech'; and from
the physical standpoint no very hard and fast line can be
drawn between the northern Sudanese and southern Bantu
groups, considered as two ethnical units.
> Thanks to recent political developments in the interior,
the linguistic divide may now be traced with some accuracy
right across the continent. In the extreme
5J^tu"Sr '«^est, Sir H. H. Johnston has shown that it
coincides with the lower course of the Rio del
Rey, while farther east the French expedition of 1891 under
M. Dybowski found that it ran at about the same parallel
(5° N.) along the elevated plateau which here forms the
water-parting between the Congo and the Chad basin. From
this point the line takes a south-easterly trend along the
southern borders of the Zandeh and Mangbattu territories to
1 Bantu, properly Aba-ntu, "people." Aba is one of the numerous personaJ
prefixes, each with its corresponding singular form, which are thc/cause of so much
confusion in Bantu nomenclature. To aba, ab, ba answers a sing, umu, um, mu,
so that sing, umu-titu, um-ntu or Mu-ntu, al man, a person ; plu. aba-ntu, ab-ntu,'
ba-ntu. But in some groups mu is also plural, the chief dialectic variants being,
Ama, Aba, Ma, Ba, Wa.Ova, Va, Vua, i/, .<4, O, £jA«, asin Ama-Zulu, Mu-SarongOy
Ma-Yomba, Wa-Swabili, Ova-Herero, Vua-Twa, Ba-Suto, Eshi-Kongo. For a
tentative classification of African tribes see T. A. Joyce, Art. " Africa : Ethnology,"
En<y. Brit 1910, p. 329. For the classification of Bantu tongues into 44 groups
consult H. H. Johriston, Art. "Bantu Languages," loc. at.
2 Eth. Ch. XI.
iv] The African Negro: II. 87
the Semliki Valley between Lakes Albert Edward and Albert
Nyanza, near the equator. Thence it pursues a somewhat
irregular course, first north by the east side of the Albert
Nyanza to the mouth of the Somerset Nile, then up that
river to MruH and round the east side of Usoga and the
Victoria Nyanza to Kavirondo Bay, where it turns nearly east
to the sources of the Tana, and down that river to its mouth
in the Indian Ocean.
At some points the line traverses debatable territory, as
in the Semliki Valley, where there are Sudanese and Negrillo
overlappings, and again beyond Victoria Nyanza, where the
frontiers are broken by the Hamitic Masai nomads and their
Wandorobbo allies. But, speaking generally, everything
south of the line here traced is Bantu, everything north of it
Sudanese Negro in the western and central regions, and
Hamitic in the eastern section between Victoria Nyanza and
the Indian Ocean.
In some districts the demarcation is not quite distinct, as
in the Tana basin, where some of the Galla and Somali
Hamites from the north have encroached on the .
territory of the Wa-Pokomo Bantus on the Tribes-
south side of the river. But on the central The Bonjo
plateau M. Dybowski passed abruptly from the Cannibals,
territory of the Bonjos, northernmost of the Bantu tribes, to
that of the Sudanese Bandziri, a branch of the widespread
Zandeh people. In this region, about the crest of the Congo-
Chad water-parting, the contrasts appear to be all in favour
of the Sudanese and against the Bantus, probably because
here the former are Negroids, the latter full-blood Negroes.
Thus Dybowski' found the Bonjos to be a distinctly Negro
tribe with pronounced prognathism, and altogether a rude,
savage people, trading chiefly in slaves, who are fattened for
the meat market, and when in good condition will fetch about
twelve shillings. On the other hand the Bandziri, despite
their Niam-Niam connection, are not cannibals, but a peace-
ful, agricultural people, friendly to travellers, and of a
coppery-brown complexion, with regular features, hence
perhaps akin to the light-coloured people met by Barth in
the Mosgu country.
Possibly the Bonjos may be a degraded branch of the
1 Le Naturaliste, Jan. 1894.
88 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Bayas or Nderes, a large nation, with many subdivisions
widely diffused throughout the Sangha basin,
NatiMi*^* where they occupy the whole space between the
Kadei and the Mambere affluents of the main
stream (3° to 7° 30' N.; 14° to 17° E.). They are described
by M. F. J. ClozeP as of tall stature, muscular, well-propor-
tioned, with flat nose, slightly tumid lips, and of black colour,
but with a dash of copper-red in the upper classes. Although
cannibals, like the Bohjos, they are in other respects an
intelligent, friendly people, who, under the influence of the
Muhammadan Fulahs, have developed a complete political
administration, with a Royal Court, a Chancellor, Speaker,
Interpreter, and other officials, bearing sonorous titles taken
chiefly from the Hausa language. Their own Bantu tongue
is widespread and spoken with slight dialectic differences as
far as the Nana affluents.
M. Clozel, who regards them as mentally and morally
superior to most of the Middle and Lower Congo tribes, tells
us that the Bayas, that is, the " Red People,"
People" came at an unknown period from the east,
" yielding to that great movement of migration
by which the African populations are continually impelled
westwards." The Yangere section were still on the move
some twelve y^ars ago, but the general migration has since
bfeen arrested by the Fulahs of Adamawa. Human flesh is
now interdicted to the women ; they have domesticated the
sheep, goat, and dog, and believe in a supreme being called
So, whose powers are manifested in the dense woodlands,
while minor deities preside over the village and the hut, that
is, the whole community and each separate family group.
Thus both their religious and political systems present a
certain completeness, which recalls those prevalent amongst
the semi-civilised peoples of the equatorial lake region, and is
evidently due to the same cause — long contact or association
with a race of higher culture and intelligence.
In order to understand all these relations, as well as
the general constitution of the Bantu populations, we have
The North- ^° Consider that the already-described Black
East Door to Zone, running from the Atlantic seaboard east-
Bantuiand. wards, has for countless generations been almost
' Tour de Monde, 1896, I. p. I sq. ; and Les Bayas; Notes Ethnographiques et
Linguistiques, Paris, 1896.
iv] The African Negro: II. 89
everywhere arrested north of the equator by the White Nile.
Probably since the close of the Old Stone Age the whole of
the region between the main stream and the Red Sea, and
from the equator north to the Mediterranean, has formed an
integi-al part of the Hamitic domain, encroached upon in
prehistoric times by Semites and others in Egypt and
Abyssinia, and in historic times chiefly by Semites (Arabs)
in Egypt, Upper Nubia, Senaar, and Somaliland. Between
this region and Africa south of the equator there are no
serious physical obstructions of any kind, whereas farther
west the Hamitic Saharan nomads were everywhere barred
access to the south by the broad, thickly-peopled plateaux of
the Sudanese Black Zone. All encroachments on this side
necessarily resulted in absorption in the multitudinous Negro
populations of Central Sudan, with the modifications of the
physical and mental characters which are now presented by
the Kanuri, Hausas, Songhai and other Negroid nations of
that region, and are at present actually in progress amongst
the conquering Fulah Hamites scattered in small dominant
groups over a great part of Sudan from Senegambia to
Wadai.
It follows that the leavening element, by which the
southern Negro populations have been diversely modified
throughout the Bantu lands, could have been Semitic Ele-
drawn only from the Hamitic and Semitic mentsofthe
peoples of the north-east. But in this connec- ^*°*" Amai-
tion the Semites themselves must be considered
as almost une quantity n^gligeable, partly because of their
relatively later arrival from Asia, and partly because, as they
arrived, they became largely assimilated to the indigenous
Hamitic inhabitants of Egypt, Abyssinia, and Somaliland.
Belief in the presence of a Semitic people in the interior
of S.E. Africa in early historic times was. supported by the
groups of ruins (especially those of Zimbabwe), found mainly
in Southern Rhodesia, described in J. T. Bent's Ruined Cities
of Mashonaland. Exploration in 1905 dispelled the romance
hitherto connected with the "temples" and produced evidence
to show that they were not earlier in date than the fourteenth
or fifteenth centuries and were of native construction'. They
1 D. Randall-Maclver, Mediaeval Rhodesia, 1906. But R. N. Hall, Prehistoric
Rhodesia, 1909, strongly opposes this view. See below, p. 105.
90 Man-: Past and Present [ch.
probably served as distributing centres for the gold traffic
Carried on with the Semitic traders of the coast. For cer-
tainly in Muhammadan times Semites from Arabia formed
permanent settlements along the eastern seaboard as far
south as Sofala, and these intermingled more freely with the
converted coast peoples {Wa-Swakili, from sahel= "coast"),
but not with the Kafirs, or "Unbelievers," farther south and
in the interior. In our own days these Swahili half-breeds,
with a limited number of full-blood Arabs', have penetrated
beyond the Great Lakes to the Upper and Middle Congo
basin, but rather as slave-hunters and destroyers than as
peaceful settlers, and contracting few alliances, except perhaps
amongst the Wa-Yao and Ma-Gwangara tribes of Mozam-
bique, and the cannibal Ma-Nyemas farther inland.
To this extent Semitism may be recognised as a factor in
the constituent elements of the Bantu populations. Malays
Malay have also been mentioned, and some ethno-
Eiements in logists have even brought the Fulahs of Western'
Madagascar Sudan all the way from Malaysia. Certainly if
°°^' they reached and formed settlements in Mada- ,
gascar, there is no intrinsic reason why they should not have
done the same on the mainland. But I have faifed to find
any evidence of the fact, and if they ever at any time estab-
lished themselves on the east coast they have long disappeared,
without leaving any clear trace of their presence either in the
physical appearance, speech, usages or industries of the
aborigines, such as are everywhere conspicuous in Mada-
gascar. The small canoes with two booms and double out-
riggers which occur at least from Mombasa to Mozambique
are of Indonesian origin, as are the fish traps that occur at
Mombasa.
There remain the north-easterrt Hamites, and especially
the Galla branch, as the essential extraneous factor in this
Hamitic obscure Bantu problem. To the stream of mi-
Eiement gration described by M. Clozel as setting east
everywhere, ^^^ west, corresponds another and an older
stream, which ages ago took a southerly direction along the
eastern seaboard to the extremity of the continent, where
are now settled the Zulu-Xosa nations, almost more Hamites
than Negroes.
1 Even Tipu Tib, their chief leader and " Prince of Slavers^" was a half-caste
with distinctly Negroid features.
iv] The African Negro: II. 91
The impulse to two sudi divergent movements could have
come only from the north-east, where we still find the same
tendencies in actual operation. During his exploration of the
east equatorial lands, Capt. Speke had already observed that
the rulers of the Bantu nations about the Great Lakes
(Karagwe, Ba-Ganda, Ba-Nyoro, etc.) all be-
longed to the same race, known by the name of Ba-Himas.
Ba-Hima, that is, " Northmen," a pastoral people of fine
appearance, who were evidently of Galla stock, and had
come originally from Gallaland. Since then Schuver found
that the Negroes of the Afilo country are governed by a
Galla aristocracy', and we now know that several Ba-hima
communities bearing different names live interspersed amongst
the mixed Bantu nations of the lacustrian plateaux as far
south as Lake Tanganyika and Unyamwezilandl Here the
Wa-Tusi, Wa-Hha, and Wa-Ruanda are or were all of the
same Hamitic type, and M. Lionel D^cle "was very much
struck by the extraordinary difference that is to be found
between them and their Bantu neighbours'." Then this
observer adds : " Pure types are not common, and are only
to be found amongst the aristocracy, if I may use such an
expression for Africans. The mass of the people have lost
their original type through intermixture with neighbouring
tribes."
J. Roscoe* thus describes the inhabitants of Ankole.
" The pastoral people are commonly called Bahima, though
they prefer to be called Banyankole ; they are a tall fine race
though physically not very strong. Many of them are over
six feet in height, their young king being six feet six inches
and broad in proportion to his height It is not only the
men who are so tall, the women also being above the usual
statute of their sex among other tribes, though they do in-
justice to their height by a fashionable stoop which makes
them appear much shortgr than they really are. The features
1 "Afilo wurde mir vom Lega-Konig als ein Negerland bezeichnet, welches von
einer Galla-Aristokratie beherrscht wird" {PeterrHann's Mitt. 1883, v. p. 194).
2 The Ba-Hima are herdsmen in Buganda, a sort of aristocracy in Unyoro, a
ruling caste in Tore, and the dominant race with dynasties in Ankole. The name
varies in different areas.
^ Journ. Anthf. Inst. 189S, p- 424. For details of the Ba-Hima type see Eth.
P- 389-
* J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu, I9i5,.p. 103. Herein are also described the
Bakene, lake dwellers, the Bagesu, a cannibal tribe, the Bdsoga and the Nilotic
tribes the Bateso z.ti'S. Kavirondo.
92 Man: Past and Present [ch.
of these pastoral people are good : they have straight noses
with a bridge, thin lips, finely chiselled faces, heads well set
on fairly developed frames, and a good carriage ; there is in
fact nothing but their colour and their short woolly hair to
make you think of them as negroids,"
The contrast and the relationship between the pastoral
conquerors and the agricultural tribes is clearly seen among
Pastoral and ^^ Ba-Nyoro. "The pastoral people are a tall,
Agricultural well-built race of men and women with finely
Clans. cut features, many of them over six feet in
height. The men are athletic with little spare flesh, but the
women are frequently very fat and corpulent : indeed their
ideal of beauty is obesity, and their milk diet together with
their careful avoidance of exercise tends to increase their
size. The agricultural clans, on the other hand, are short,
ill-favoured looking men and women with broad noses of the
negro type, lean and unkempt. Both classes are dark, varying
in shade from a light brown to deep black, with short woolly
hair. The pastoral people refrain, as far as possible, from all
manual labour and expect the agricultural clans to do their
menial work for them, such as building their houses, carrying
firewood and water, and supplying them with grain and beer
for their households." " Careful observation and enquiry
lead to the opinion that the agricultural clans were the original
inhabitants and that they were conquered by the pastoral
people who have reduced them to their present servile
condition^"
From these indications and many others that might easily
be adduced, it may be concluded with some confidence that
The Bantus the great mass of the Bantu populations are
mainly a Negro- essentially Negroes, leavened in diverse pro-
Hamitic Cross, portions for the most part by conquering Galla
or Hamitic elements percolating for thousands of generations
from the north-eastern section of the Hamitic domain into the
heart of Bantuland.
The date of the Bantu migrations is much disputed. "As
far as linguistic evidence goes," says H. H. Johnston*, "the
ancestors of the Bantu dwelt in some region like th6 Bahr-
al-Ghazal, not far from the Mountain Nile on the east, from
' J. Roscoe, loc. cit. pp. 4, 5. *
2 "A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLIII.
1913, P- 39°-
iv] The African Negro: II. 93
Kordofan on the north, or the Benue and Chad basins on the
west. Their first great movement of expansion seems to
have been eastward, and to have established them (possibly
with a guiding aristocracy of Hamitic origin) in the region
between Mount Elgon, the Northern Victoria Nyanza,
Tanganyika, and the Congo Forest. At some such period
as about 300 b.c. their far-reaching invasion of Central and
South Africa seems to have begun." The date is fixed by
the date of the introduction of the fowl from Nile-land, since
the root word for fowl is the same almost throughout Bantu
Africa, " obviously related to the Persian words for fowl, yet
quite unrelated to the Semitic terms, or to those used by the
'Kushites of Eastern Africa." F. Stuhlmann, on the contrary,
places the migrations practically in geological times. After
bringing the Sudan Negroes from South Asia at the end of
the Tertiary or beginning of the Pleistocene {Pluvialperiod),
and the Proto-Hamites from a region probably somewhat
further to the north and west of the former, he continues :
From the mingling of- the Negroes and the Proto-Hamites
were formed, probably in East Africa, the Bantu languages
and the Bantu peoples, who wandered thence south and
west. The wanderings began in the latter part of the Pleis-
tocene period\ He quotes Th. Arldt, who with greater
precision places the occupation of Africa by the Negroes
in the Riss period (300,000 years ago) and that of the
Hamites in the Mousterian period (30,000 to 50,000 years
ago)'.
All these peoples resulting from the crossings of Negroes
with Hamites now speak various forms of the same organic
Bantu mother-tongue. But this linguistic uniformity is strictly
analogous to that now prevailing amongst the multifarious
peoples of Aryan speech in Eurasia, and is due to analogous
causes— the diffusion in extremely remote times of a mixed
Hamito-Negro people of Bantu speech in Africa south of the
equator. It might perhaps be objected that the present
Ba-Hima pastors are of Hamitic speech, because we know
from Stanley that the late king M'tesa of Buganda was proud
of his Galla ancestors, whose language he still spoke as his
mother-tongue. But he also spoke Luganda, and every echo
1 Handwerk und Industrie in Ostafrika, 1910, p. 147.
2 " Die erste Ausbreitung des Menschengeschlechts." Pol. Anthropol. Revue,
1909, p. 72. Cf. chronology on p. 14 above.
94 Man: Past and Present [cii.
of Galla speech has already died out amongst most of the
Ba-Hima communities in the equatorial regions. So it was
with what I may call the " Proto-Ba-Himas," the first con-
quering Galla tribes, Schuver's and Deck's "aristocracy,"
who were gradually blended with the aborigines in a new and
superior nationality of Bantu speech, because "there are
many mixed races,... but there are no mixed languages \"
These view% are confirmed by the traditions and folklore
still current amongst the " Lacustrians," as the great nations
may be called, who are now grouped round about the shores
of Lakes Victoria and Albert Nyanza. At present, or rather
before the recent extension of the British
ti-ui^i!^''"^' administration to East Central Africa, these"
peoples were constituted in a number of separate
kingdoms, the most powerful of which were Buganda
(Uganda)^ Bunyoro (Unyoro), and Karagwe. But they
remember a time when all these now scattered fragments
formed parts of a mighty monarchy, the vast Kitwara Empire,
which comprised the whole of the lake-studded plateau between
the Ruwenzori range and Kavirondoland.
The story is differently told in the different states, each
nation being eager to twist it to its own glorification ; but all
Their Tradi- ^^e agreed that the founder of the empire was
(tions— The Kintu, "The Blameless," at once priest, patriarch
Kintu Legend. ^^^ ruler of the land, who came from the north
hundreds of years ago, with one wife, one cow, one goat, one
sheep, one chicken, one banana-root, and . one sweet potato.
At first all was waste, an uninhabited wilderness, but it was
soon miraculously peopled, stocked, and planted with what he
had brought with him, the potato being apportioned to
Bunyoro, the banana to Buganda, and these form the staple
food of those lands to this day.
Then the people waxed wicked, and Kintu, weary of their
evil ways and daily bloodshed, took the original wife, cow,
and other things, and went away in the night and was seen
no more. But nobody believed him dead, and a long line of
his mythical successors appear to have spent the time they
^ Ethnology, p. 199.
'' Uganda is the name now applied to the whole Protectorate, Buganda is the
small kingdom, Baganda, the people, Muganda, one person, Luganda, the language.
H. H. Johnston, The Uganda Protectorate, 1902, and J. F. Cunningham, Uganda
and its Peoples, 1905, cover much of the elementary anthropology of East Central
Africa.
iv] The African Negro : II. 95
could spare from strife and war and evil deeds in looking for
the lost Kintu. Kimera, one of these, was a mighty giant
of such strength and weight that he left his footprints on the
rocks where hfe trod, as may still be seen on a cliff not far
from Ulagalla, the old capital of Buganda. There was also
a magician, Kibaga, who could fly aloft and kill the Ba-Nyoro
people (this is the Buganda version) by hurling stones
down upon them, and for his services received in marriage a
beautiful Ba-Nyoro captive, who, another Delilah, found out
his secret, and betrayed him to her people.
At last came King Ma'anda, who pretended to be a great
hunter, "but it was only to roam the woodlands in search of
Kintu, and thus have tidings of him. One day a peasant,
obeying the directions of a thrice-dreamt dream, came to a
place in the forest, where was an aged man on a throne
between two rows of armed warriors, seated on mats, his long
beard white with age, and all his men fair as white people
and clothed in white robes. Then Kintu, for it was he, bid
the peasant hasten to summon Ma'anda thither, but only with
his mother and the messenger. At the Court Ma'anda
recognised the stranger whom he had that very night seen in
a dream, and so believed his words and at once set out with
his mother and the peasant. But the Katikiro, or Prime
Minister, through whom the message had been delivered to
the king, fearing treachery, also started on their track, keeping
them just in view till the trysting-place was reached. But
Kintu, who knew everything, saw him all the time, and when
he came forward on finding himself discovered the enraged
Ma'anda pierced his faithful minister to the heart and he fell
dead with a shriek. Thereupon Kintu and his seated warriors
instantly vanished, and the king with the others wept and
cried upon Kintu till the deep woods echoed Kintu, Kintu-u,
Kintu-u-u. But the blood-hating Kintu was gone, and to
this day has never again been seen or heard of by any man
in Buganda. The references to the north and to Kintu and
his ghostly warriors " fair as white people " need no com-
ment\ It is noteworthy that in some of the Nyassaland
1 The legend is given with much detail by H. M. Stanley in Through the Dark
Continent, Vol. I. p. 344 sq. Another and less mythical account of the migrations
of "the people with a white skin from the far north-east" is quoted from Emin
Pasha by the Rev. R. P. Ashe in Two Kings of Uganda, p. 336. Here the
immigrant Ba-Hima are expressly stated to have " adopted the language of the
aborigines" (p. 337)-
96 Man : Past and Present [ch.
dialects Kintu (Caintu) alternates with Mulungu as the
name of the Supreme Being, the great ancestor of the
tribe'.
Then follows more traditional or legendary matter, in-
cluding an account of the wars with the fierce Wakedi, who
The Ba-Ganda, wore iron armour, until authentic history is
past and reached with the atrocious Suna II (1836-60),
present. father of the scarcely less atrocious M'tesa.
After his death in 1884 Buganda and the neighbouring
states passed rapidly through a series of astonishing political,
religious, and social vicissitudes, resulting in the present pax
Britannica, and the conversion of large numbers, some to
I slim, others to one form or another of Christianity. At times
it might have been difficult to see much religion in the ferocity
of the contending factions ; but since the establishment of
harmony by the secular arm, real progress has been made, and
the Ba-Ganda especially have displayed a remarkable capacity
as well as eagerness to acquire a knowledge of letters and of
religious principles, both in the Protestant and the Roman
Catholic communities. Printing-presses, busily worked by
native hands, are needed to meet the steadily increasing
demand for a vernacular literature, in a region where blood
had flowed continually from the disappearance of " Kintu "
till the British occupation.
To the admixture of the Hamitic and Negro elements
amongst the Lacustrians may perhaps be attributed the
Political and curious blend of primitive and higher institutions
Social in these communities. At the head of the State
Institutions. yfj^^ ^ Kabaka, king or emperor, although the
title was also borne by the queen-mother and the queen-sister.
This autocrat had his Lukiko, or Council, of which the
members were th.& Katikiro, Prime Minister and Chief Justice,
the Kimbugwe, who had charge of the King's umbilical cord,
and held rank next to the Katikiro, and ten District chiefs,
for the administration of the ten large districts into which the
country was divided, each rendering accounts to the Katikiro
and through him to the King. Each District chief had to
maintain in good order a road some four yards wide, reaching
from the capital to his country seat, a distance possibly of
nearly 100 miles. Each District chief had sub-chiefs under
^ Sir H. H. Johnston, op. cit. p. 514.
iv] The African Negro: II. 97
him, independent of the chief in managing their own portion of
land. These were responsible for keeping in repair the road
between their own residence and that of the District chief.
In each district was a supreme court, and every sub-chief,
even with only a dozen followers, could hold a court and try
cases among his own people. The people, however, could
take their cases from one tourt to another until eventually
they came before the Katikiro or the King.
Yet together with this highly advanced social and political
development a totemic exogamous clan system was in force
throughout Uganda, all the Ba-Ganda belonging
to one of 29 kika or clans, each possessing syst^^
two totems held sacred by the clan. Thus the
Lion [Mpologoma) clan had the Eagle {Mpungu) for its second
totem ; the Mushroom (Butiko) clan had the Snail {Nsonko) ;
the Buffalo {Mbogo) clan had a New Cooking Pot {Ntamu).
Each clan had its chief, or Father, who resided on the clan
estate which was also the clan burial-ground, and was re-
sponsible for the conduct of the members of his branch. All
the clans were exogamous \ and a man was expected to take
a second wife from the clan of his paternal grandmother''.
No direct relations appear to exist between the Lacustrians
and the Wa-Kikuyu, Wa-Kamba, Wa-Pokomo, Wa-Gweno,
Wa-Chaza, Wa-Teita, Wa-Taveita, and others', „ , „ ,
, * 1 • r -1 7- ■ TVT Bantu Peoples
who occupy the region east 01 Victoria Nyanza, between
between the Tana, north-east frontier of Bantu- L. Victoria and
land, and the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro. Coast.
Their affinities seem to be rather with the Wa-Nyika, Wa-Boni,
Wa-Duruma, Wa-Giryama, and the other coast tribes between
the Tana and Mombasa. All of these tribes have more or
less adopted the habits and customs of the Masai.
We learn from Sir A. Harding^ that in the British East
' Except the Lung-fish clan.
" J. Roscoe, TheBaganda, 191 1.
' For the Wa-Kikuyu see W. S. and K. Routledge, With a Prehistoric People,
1910, and C. W. Hobley's papers in the Joum. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910, and
XLI, 191 1. The Atharaka are described by A. M. Champion, yoa;>-«. Roy. Anthr.
Inst. XLii. 1912, p. 68. Consult for this region C. Eliot, The East Africa Pro-
tectorate, 1905 ; K. Weule, Native Life in East Africa, 1909 ; C. W. Hobley,
Ethnology of the A-Kamba and other East African Tribes, 1910; M.- Weiss,
Die Vdlkerstdmme im Norden Deutsch-Ostafiikas, 1910 ; and A. Werner, "The
Bantu Coast Tribes of the East Africa Protectorate," fourn. Roy. Anthr. Inst.
XLV. 191 5.
* Official Report on the East African' Protectorate, 1897.
K. 7
98 Man: Past and Present [ch.
African Protectorate there are altogether as many as twenty-
five distinct tribes, generally at a low stage of culture, with a
loose tribal organisation, a fully-developed totemic system,
and a universal faith in magic ; but there are no priests, idols
or temples, or even distinctly recognised hereditary chiefs or
communal councils. The Gallas, who have crossed the Tana
and here encroached on Bantu territory, have reminiscences
of a higher civilisation and apparently of Christian traditions
and observances, derived no doubt from Abyssinia. They
tell you that they had once a sacred book, the observance of
whose precepts made them the first of nations. But it was
left lying about, and so got eaten by a cow, and since then
when cows are killed their entrails are carefully searched for
the lost volume.
Exceptional interest attaches to the Wa-Giryama, who
are the chief people between Mombasa and Melindi,
the first trustworthy accounts of whom were contributed by
W. E. Taylor', and W. W. A. Fitzgerald'. Here again
Bantus and Gallas are found in close contact, and we
learn that the Wa-Giryama, who came originally from the
Mount Mangea district in the north-east, occupied their
present homes only about a century ago "upon the with-
drawal of the Gallas." The language, which is of a somewhat
archaic type, appears to be the chief member of a widespread
Bantu group, embracing the Ki-nyika, and Ki-pokomo in the
extrerhe . north, the Ki-swahili of the Zanzibar
Wa-Giryama. Goast, and perhaps the Ki-kamba, the Ki-teita,
and others of the interior between the coastlarids
and, Victoria Nyanza. These inland tongues, however, haVe
greatly diverged from the primitive Ki-giryama', which stands
in somewhat the same relation to them and to the still more
degraded and Arabised Ki-swahili^ that Latin stands to the
Romance languages.
But the chief interest presented by the Wa-Giryama is
1 Vocabulary ef the Giryama Language^ S.V.G.K. liqy.
^ Trai/6ls in the Coastlarids df BHtish East Afriea^ London, 1898, p. 103 sq^
3 A. Wemer, " Girtjama Teits," Zeitsc/ir./^ Kol.-spn Oct/ 1914.
* Havihg become the chief mediufn of intercotirse throughout the southern
Bantu regions, Ki-swabiti has been diligently cultivated, esfjecially tJy the English
missionaries, \*htf have wisely discarded the Arab for the Ron»an characters. Thetfe
is already an extensive literature, irrcltiding gramrtlars, dictionaries, translations
of the Bible and other virdrks, and even A History 0/ Rome issued by the S.P.G.K.
in 1898.
iv] The African Negro: II. 99
centred in their religious ideas, which are mainly Gonnected
with ancestry-worship, and afford art unexpected primitive
insight into the origin and nature of that perhaps Ancestry-
most primitive of all forms of belief. There is, Worship,
of course, a vague entity called a " Supreme Being, " in ethno-
graphic writings, who, like the Algonquian Manitu, crops up
under various names (here Mulungu) all over east Bantuland,
but on analysis generally resolves itself into some dim notion
growing out of anceistry-worship, a great or aged person,
eponymous hero or the like, later deified in diverse ways
as the Preserver, the Disposer, and especially the Creator.
These Wa-Giryama suppose that from his union
with the Earth all things haVe sprung, and that t^^ShfaLr*^
human beings are Mulungu's hens and chickens.
But there is also an idea that he may be the manes of their
fathers, and thus everything becomes merged in a kind of
apotheosis of the departed. They think "the disembodied
spirit is powerful for good and evil. Individuals worship the
shades of their immediate ancestors or elder relatives ; and
the k'omas [souls?] of the whole nation are worshipped on
public occasions."
Although the European ghost or " revenant " is unknown,
the spirits of near ancestors may appear in dreams, and
express their wishes to the living. They ask for sacrifices at
their graves to appease their hunger, and such sacrifices are
often made with a little flour and water poured into a coconut
shell let into the ground, the fowls and other victims being so
killed that the blood shall trickle into the grave. At the
offering the dead are called on by name to come and partake,
and bring their friends with them, who are also mentioned by
name. But whereas Christians pray to be remembered of
heaven and the saints, the Wa-Giryama pray rather that the
new-born babe be forgotten of Mulungu, and so live. " Well ! "
they will say on the news of a birth, " may Mulungu forget
him that he may become strong and well." This" is an
instructive trait, a reminiscence of the time when Mulungu,
now almost harmless or indifferent to mundane things, was the
embodiment of all evil, hence to be feared and appeased in
accordance with the old dictum Tintay fecit deos.
At present no distinction is drawn between good and bad
spirits, but all are looked upon as, of course, often, though not
always, more powerful than the living, but still hymafl beings
loo Man : Past and Present [ch.
subject to the same feelings, passions, and fancies as they are.
Some are even poor weaklings on whom offerings are wasted.
" The Shade of So-and-so's father is of no use at all ; it has
finished up his property, and yet he is no better," was a
native's comment on the result of a series of sacrifices a man
had vainly made to his father's shade to regain his health.
They may also be duped and tricked, and when pombe (beer)
is a-brewing, some is poured out on the graves of the dead,
with the prayer that they may drink, and when drunk fall
asleep, and so not disturb the living with their brawls and
bickerings, just like the wrangling fairies in A Midsummer
Night's Dream}.
Far removed from such crass anthropomorphism, but not
morally much improved, are the kindred Wa-Swahili, who by
long contact and interminglings have become
Wa-Swahili largely Arabised in dress, religion, and general
culture. They are graphically described by
Taylor as " a seafaring, barter-loving race of slave-holders and
slave-traders, strewn in a thin line along a thousand miles of
creeks and islands ; inhabitants of a coast that has witnessed
incessant political changes, and a succession of monarchical
dynasties in various centres ; receiving into their midst for
ages past a continuous stream of strange blood, consisting not
only of serviles from the interior, but of immigrants from
Persia, Arabia, and Western India; men that have come to
live, and often to die, as resident aliens, leaving in many cases
a hybrid progeny. Of one section of these immigrants — the
Arabs — the religion has become the master-religion of the
land, overspreading, if not entirely supplanting, the old Bantu
ancestor-worship, and profoundly affecting the whole family
life."
The Wa-Swahili are in a sense a historical people, for
they formed the chief constituent elements of the renowned
Zang (Zeng) empireS which in Edrisi's time
Empi>e°^ (twelfth century) stretched along the seaboard
from Somaliland to and beyond the Zambesi.
1 W. E. H. Barrett, " Notes on the Customs and Beliefs of the Wa-Giriama,"
etc., Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLI. 191 1, gives further details. For a full review
of the religious beliefs of Bantu tribes see E. S. Hartland, Art. " Bantu and S.
Africa," Ency. of Religion and Ethics, 1909.
2 The name still survives in Zangue-bar ("Zang-land") and the adjacent island
of Zanzibar (an Indian corruption). Zang is "black," and bar is the same Arabic
word, meaning dry land, that we have in Mcila-bar on the opposite side of the
Indian Ocean. Cf. also barran wa bahran, "by land and by sea."
iv] The African Negro : II. loi
When the Portuguese burst suddenly into the Indian Ocean it
was a great and powerful state, or rather a vast confederacy
of states, with many flourishing cities — Magdoshu, Brava,
Mombasa, Melindi, Kilwa, Angosha, Sofala— and widespread
commercial relations extending across the eastern waters to
India and China, and up the Red Sea to Europe. How these
great centres of trade and eastern culture were one after the
other ruthlessly destroyed by the Portuguese corsairs co o
ferro e fogo ("with sword and fire," Camoens) is told by
Duarte Barbosa, who was himself a Portuguese and an eye-
witness of the havoc and the horrors that not infrequently
followed in the trail of his barbarous fellow-countrymen\
Beyond Sofala we enter the domain of the Ama-Zulu, the
Ama-Xosa, and others whom I have collectively called Zulu-
Xosas\ and who are in some respects the most
remarkable ethnical group in all Bantuland. xosaf"'""
Indeed they are by common consent regarded
as Bantus in a preeminent sense, and this conventional term
Bantu itself is taken from their typical Bantu language*.
There is clear evidence that they are comparatively recent
arrivals, necessarily from the north, in their present territory,
which was still occupied by Bushman and Hottentot tribes
probably within the last thousand years or so. Before the
Kafir wars with the English (1811-77) this Former and
territory extended much farther round the coast 1 Present
than at present, and for many years the Great Domain.
Kei River has formed the frontier between the white settle-
ments and the Xosas.
But what they have lost in this direction the Zulu-Xosas,
■ Viage por Malabar y Castas de Africa, 15 12, translated by the Hon.
Henry E. J. Stanley, Hakluyt Society, 1868.
^ In preference to the more popular form Zulu-Kafir, where Kafir is merely
the Arabic " Infidel " applied indiscriminately to any people rejecting Isldm ;
hence the Siah Posh Kafirs ("Black-clad Infidels") of Afghanistan ; the Kufra
oasis in the Sahara, where Kufra, plural of Kafir, refers to the pagan Tibus of
that district ; and the Kafirs generally of the East African seaboard. But
according to English usage Zulu is applied to the northern part of the territory,
mainly Zululand proper and Natal, while Kafirland or Kaffraria is restiricted to the
southern section between Natal and the Great Kei River. The bulk of these
southern " Kafirs " belong to the Xosa connection ; hence this term takes the
place of Kafir, in the compound expression Zulu-Xosa. Ama is explained on
p. 86, and the X of Xosa represents an unpronounceable combination of a
guttural and a lateral click, this with two other clicks (a dental and a palatal)
having infected the speech of these Bantus during their long prehistoric wars with
he Hottentots or Bushmen. See p. 129.
^ See p. 86 above.
I02 Man : Past and Present [ch.
or at least the Zulus, have recovered a hundredfold by their
expansion northwards during the nineteenth century. After
•the establishment of the Zulu military power under Dingiswayo
and his successor Chaka (1793-1828), half the continent was
overrun by organised Zulu hordes, who ranged as far north as
Victoria Nyanza, and in many places founded more or less
unstable kingdoms or chieftaincies on the model of the terrible
despotism set up in Zuluiand. Such were, beyond the
Limpopo, the states of Gazaland and Matabiliknd, the latter
established about 1838 by Umsilikatzi, father of Lobengula,
who perished in a hopeless struggle with the English in 1894.
Gungunhana, last of the Swazi (Zulu) chiefs in Gazaland,
where the A-Ngoni had overrun the Ba-Thonga(Ba-Ronga)\
was similarly dispossessed by the Portuguese in 1896.
North of Zambesi the Zulu bands — Ma-Situ, Ma-Viti,
Ma-Ngoni (A-Ngoni), and others — nowhere developed large
political states except for a short time under the ubiquitous
Mirambo in Unyamweziland. But some, especially the
A-Ngoni^ were long troublesome in the Nyasa district, and
others about the Lower Zambesi, where they are known to
the Portuguese as " Landins." The A-Ngoni power was
finally broken by the English early in 1898, and the reflux
movement has now entirely subsided, and cannot be revived,
the disturbing elements having been extinguished at the
fountain-head by the absorption of Zuluiand. itself in the
British Colony of Natal (1895).
Nowhere have patriarchal institutions been more highly
developed than among the Zulu-Xosas, all of whom, except
perhaps the Ama-Fingus and some other broken
Gene^ogfes groups, claim direct descent from some epony-
mous hero or mythical founder of the tribe. Thus
1 See the admirable monograph on the Ba-Thanga, by H. A. Junod, The Life
of a South Affican Tribe, 1,912.
^ Robert Codirington tells us that these A-Ngoni (Aba-Ngoni) spring from
a Zulu tribe which crossed the Zambesi about 1825, and established themselves
south-east <rf L. Tanganyika, but later migrated to the uplainds west of L. Nyasa,
where they founded three petty states. Others went east of the Livingstone range,
and are here still knowm as Magwangwara. But all became gradually assimilated .
to the surrounding papulations. Intermarrying with the women of the country
they preserve their speedi, dress, and usages for the first generation in a slightly
modified form, although the language of daily intercourse is that of the mothers.
Then this dass becomes the aristocracy of the whole nation, w^ich henceforth
comiprises a great part of the aborigines ruled by a ipriyileged-casiteof Zulu origin,
"perpetuated almost entirely among themselves" ("CMitrjal Angoniland," Geograph.
Jour. May, 1898, p. 512). See A. Werner, The Natives of British Central Africa,
1906.
IV]
The African Negro : II.
103
in the national traditions Chaka was seventh in descent from
a legendary chief Zulu, from whom they take the name of
Abantu ba-Kwa-Zulu, that is " People of Zulu's Land,"
although the true mother-tribe appear to have beeij the now
extinct Ama-Ntombela. Once the supremacy and prestige
of Chaka's tribe were established, all the others, as they were
successively reduced, claimed also to be true Zulus, and as
the same process went on in the far north, the teriin Zulu has
now in many cases come to imply political rather than blood
relationship. Here we have an object lesson, by which the
ethnical value of such names as " Aryan," " Kelt," " Briton,"
" Slav," etc. may be gauged in other regions.
So also most of the southern section claim as their founder
and ancestor a certain Xosa, sprung from Zuide, who may
have flourished about 1 500, and whom the Ama-Tembus and
Ama-Mpondos also regard as their progenitor. Thus the
whole section is connected, but not^ in the direct line, with the
Xosas, who trace their lineage from Galeka and Khakhabe,
sons of Palo, who is said to have died about 1 780, and wg.s "
himself tenth in direct descent from Xosa. \Ve thus get
a genealogical table as under, which gives his proper place in
the Family Tree to nearly every historical "Kafir" chief in
Cape Colony, where ignorance of these relations caused much
bloodshed during the early Kafir wars :
Zuide (1500?)
Tembu
Ama-Tembus
.(Tembookies)
Xosa (1530?)
Palo (1780?)
1
Mpondo
Mpondumisi
(Mpondps)
Galeka
1
Klanta
Hinza
KreU
Khakhabe
Omlao
Gika (ob. 1828)
1
Macomo
Sandili
Mbalu
r
Gwali
1
Velelo
1
Baxa
Ndhlambe
, '
Ama-Ndblambe§
(Tsjatpbies)
Ama-Galekas
Y
Ama-Gaikas
Ama-Mbalus
But all, both northern Zulus and southern Xosas, are
essentially one people in speech, physique, us^iges and social
institutions. The hair is uniformly of a some^ . ■
what frizzly texture, the colour of a light or clear ^^^^ ^^'
I04 Man : Past and Present [ch.
brown amongst the Ama-Tembus, but elsewhere very dark,
the Swazis being almost "blue-black"; the head decidedly
long (72-5) and high (i95'8) ; nose variable, both Negroid and
perfectly regular ; height above the mean 175 m. to i*8 m.
(5 ft. 9 in. to 5 ft. 1 1 in.) ; figure shapely and muscular, though
Fritsch's measurements show that it is sometimes far from
the almost ideal standard of beauty with which some early
observers have credited them.
Mentally the Zulu-Xosas stand much higher than the true
Negro, as shown especially in their political organisation,
which, before the development of Dingiswayo's
o?^ri;=,fj«« military system under European influences, was
Organisation. , • / / ■ , 1 ^1 ^ 11 j V
a kmd 01 patriarchal monarchy controlled by a
powerful aristocracy. The nation was grouped in tribes
connected by the ties of blood and ruled by the hereditary
inkose, or feudal chief, who was supreme, with power of life
and death, within his own jyrisdiction. Against his mandates,
however, the nobles could protest in council, and it was in fact
their decisions that established precedents and the traditional
code of common law. "This common law is
L^'"'"°" ^^ adapted to a people in a rude state of
society. It holds everyone accused of crime
guilty unless he can prove himself innocent ; it makes the
head of the family responsible for the conduct of all its
branches, the village collectively for all resident in it, and the
clan for each of its villages. For the administration of the
law there are courts of various grades, from any of which an
appeal may be taken to the Supreme Council, presided over
by the paramount chief, who is not only the ruler but also the
father of the peopled"
In the interior, between the southern coast ranges and the
Zambesi, the Hottentot and Bushman aborigines were in
prehistoric ages almost everywhere displaced or
Ma-Katakasr"** reduced to servitude by other Bantu peoples
such as the Ma-Kalakas and Ma-Shonas, the
Be-Chuanas and the kindred Ba-Sutos. Of these the first
arrivals (from the north) appear to have been the Ma-Shonas
and Ma-Kalakas, who were being slowly "eaten up" by the
' Rev. J. Macdonald, Light in Africa, p. 194. Among recent works on the
Zulu-Xosa tribes may be mentioned Dudley Kidd, The Essential Kafir, 1904,
Savage Childhood, 1905 ; H. A. Junod, The Life of a South African TfHbe (Ba-
Thonga), 1912-3 ; G. W. Stow and G. M. Theal, The Native Races of South
Africa, 1905.
iv] The African Negro : II. 105
Ma-Tabili when the process was arrested by the timely
intervention of the English in Rhodesia.
Both nations are industrious tillers of the soil, skilled in
metal-work and in mining operations, being' probably the
direct descendants of the natives, whose great
^\>:\d. Monomotapa, i.e. "Lord of the Mines," as JJtaSyth
I mterpret the word\ ruled over the Manica and
surrounding auriferous districts when the Portuguese first
reached Sofala early in the sixteenth century. Apparently
for political reasons' this Monomotapa was later transformed
by them from a monarch to a monarchy, the vast empire of
Monomotapaland, which was supposed to comprise pretty well
everything south of the Zambesi, but, having no existence,
has for the last two hundred years eluded the diligent search
of historical geographers.
But some centuries before the arrival of the Portuguese
the Ma-Kalakas with the kindred Ba-Nyai, Ba-Senga and
others, may well have been at work in the mines of this
auriferous region, in the service of the builders
of the Zimbabwe ruins explored and described Rj^f""''^''''*
by the late Theodore Bent', and by him and
many others attributed to some ancient cultured people of
South Arabia. This theory of prehistoric Oriental origin was
supported by a calculation of the orientation of the Zimbabwe
" temple," by reports of inscriptions and emblems suggesting
" Phoenician rites," and by the discovery, during excavation,
of foreign objects. Later investigation, however, showed that
the orientation was based on inexact measurements ; no
authentic inscriptions were found either at Zimbabwe or
elsewhere in connection with the ruins ; none of the objects
discovered in the course of the excavations could be recognised
as more than a few centuries old, while those that were not
demonstrably foreign imports were of African type. In 1905
a scientific exploration of the ruins placed these facts beyond
' From Mwana, lord, master, and tapa, to dig, both common Bantu words.
^ The point was that Portugal had made treaties with this mythical State, in
virtue of which she claimed in the "scramble for Africa" all the hinterlands
behind her possessions on the east and west coasts (Mozambique and Angola), in
fact all South Africa between the Orange and Zambesi rivers. Further details on
the " Monomotapa Question" will be found in my monograph on "The Portuguese
in South Africa" in Murray's South Africa, from Arab Domination to British
Rule, 1891, p. II sq. Five years later Mr G. McCall Theal also discovered, no
doubt independently, the mythical character of Monomotapaland in his book on
The Portuguese in South Africa, 1896.
' Proc. R. Geogr. Soc. May, 1892, and The Ruined Cities of Mashonaland, 1892.
io6 Man : Past and Present [ch.
dispute. The medieval objects were found in such positions
as to be necessarily contemporaneous with the foundation of
the buildings, all of which could be attributed to the same
period. Finally it was established that the plan and con-
struction of Zimbabwe instead of being unique, as was
formerly supposed, only differed from other Rhodesian ruins
in dimensions and extent. The explorers felt confident that
the buildings were not earlier than the fourteenth or fifteenth
century a.d., and that the builders were the Bantu people,
remains of whose stone-faced kraals are found at so many
places between the Limpopo and the Zambesi. Their con-
clusions, however, have not met with universal acceptance'.
With the Be-Chuanas, whose territory extends from the
Orange river to Lake Ngami and includes Basutoland with
a great part of the Transvaal, we again meet a people at the
Th B rh totemic stage of culture. Here the eponymous
uanas. j^gj.Qgg ^f ^^ Zulu-Xosas are replaced by
baboons, fishes, elephants, and other animals from which the
various tribal groups claim descent. The animal in question
is called \}ci& siboko oi xh& tribe and is held in especial reverence,
members (as a rule) refraining from killing or eating it.
Many tribes take their name from -their siboko, thus the
Ba-Tlapin, "they of the fish," Ba-Kuena, "they of the croco-
dile." The siboko of the Ba-Rolong, who as a tribe are
accomplished smiths, is not an animal, but the metal iron^
With a section of the great Be-Chuana family, the Ba-Suto,
and the Ba-Rotse is connected one of the most remarkable
episodes in the turbulent history of the South
Empire!' ''^^ African peoples during the nineteenth century.
Many years ago an offshoot of the Ba-Rotse
migrated to the Middle Zambesi above the Victoria Falls,
where they founded a powerful state, the " Barotse (Marotse)
^ Empire," which despite a temporary eclipse
TheMa-Kololo ^^.-ii -^ u v- u . . i -ru
Episode. ^^^ exists as a British protectorate. 1 he
eclipse was caused by another niigfation north-
wards of a great body of Ma-Kololp, a branch of the Ba-Suto,
^ D. RsLndall-MacIver, M.etii(ieval Rhodma, I9P6- But R. N.. Hall strongly
cojanbats his views, Grm^ Zimbabwe, 1905, Pr^ffistofic RfwdeHa, 1909, 5^14 Soufh
4-frican Journal of Science, May, 1912. H. H. Johnstop says, "I see nothing
Loheffently improbable in tbje finding of gold by prota-^rabs i^i tlje south-eastern
part of Zaijobezia J nor in the pre-lslamic Arab origin ,of Zimb,9,bw.e," p. 396, "A
Survey of the Ethnography of Ainca." fourn- Roy. Anthr. Inst, xijjl. 1913.
^ G. W. Stow, Thf Native Raxes of South Africa, 1905.
w] The African Negro : //. 107
who under the renowned chief Sebituane reached the Zam-
besi about 1835 and overthrew the Barotse dynasty, reducing
the natives to a state of servitude.
But after the death of Sebituane's successor, Livingstone's
Sekeletu, the Ba-Rotse, taking advantage of their oppressors'
dynastic rivalries, suddenly revolted, and after exterminating
the Ma-Kololo almost to the last man, reconstituted the
empire on a stronger footing than ever. It now comprises an
area of some 250,000 square miles between the Chobe and
the Kafukwe affluents^ with a population vaguely estimated
at over 1,000,000, including the savage Ba-Shukulumbwe
tribes of the Kafukwe basin reduced in iSgi'.
Yet, short as was the Ma-Kololo rule (1835-70), it was
long enough to impose their language on the vanquished
Ba-Rotsel Hence the curious phenomenon now witnessed
about the Middle Zambesi, where the Ma-Kololo have
disappeared, while their Sesuto speech remains the common
medium of intercourse throughout the Barotse empire. How
often have analogous shiftings and dislocations taken place in
the course of ages in other paits of the world ! And in the
light of such lessons how cautious ethnographists should be in
arguing from speech to race, and drawing conclusions from
these or similar surface relations !
Referring to these stirring events, Mackenzie writes :
" Thus perished the Makololo from among the number of
South African tribes. No one can put his finger on the map
of Africa and say, 'Here dwell the Makololo*.'" This will
puzzle many who since the middle of the nineteenth century
have repeatedly heard of, and even been in unpleasantly close
contact with, Ma-Koldlo so called, not indeed in Barotseland,
but lower down the Zambesi about its Shir6 affluent.
The explanation of the seeming contradiction is given by
another incident, which is also not without ethnical signifi-
cance. From Livingstone's Journals we learn that in 1859
he was accompanied to the east coast by a small party of
Ma-Kololo and others, sent by his friend Sekeletu in quest of
a cure for leproay, from which the emperor was suffering.
1 The British Protectorate w^ limited in 1905 to about 182,000 square miles.
2 Cf. A. St H. Gibbons, Africa South to North through Marotseland, 1904,
and C. W. Mackintosh, Coillard of the Zambesi, 1907, with a bibliography.
.' The Ma-Kololo gave the Ba-Rotse their present name. They were originally
Aalui, but the conquerors called them Ma-Rotse, pepple of the plain.
* Ten Years North of the Orange River.
io8 Man : Past and Present [ch.
These Ma-Kololo, hearing of the Ba-Rotse revolt, wisely
stopped on their return journey at the Shire confluence, and
through the prestige of their name have here succeeded in
founding several so-called " Makololo States," which still exist,
and have from time to time given considerable trouble to the
administrators of British Central Africa. But how true are
Mackenzie's words, if the political be separated from the
ethnical relations, may be judged from the fact that of the
original founders of these petty Shire states only two were
full-blood Ma-Kololo. All the others were, I believe,
Ba-Rotse, Ba-Toka, or Ba-Tonga, these akin to the savage
Ba-Shukulumbwe.
Thus the Ma-Kololo live on, in their speech above the
Victoria Falls, in their name below the Victoria Falls, and it
is only from history we know that since about
Extinction""* 1870 the whole nation has been completely
wiped out everywhere in the Zambesi valley.
But even amongst cultured peoples history goes back a very
little way, 10,000 years at most anywhere. What changes
and shiftings may, therefore, have elsewhere also taken place
during prehistoric ages, all knowledge of which is now past
recovery M
Few Bantu peoples have lent a readier ear to the teachings
of Christian propagandists than the Xosa, Ba-Suto, and
Be-Chuana natives. Several stations in the heart of Kafir-
land — Blythswood, Somerville, Lovedale, and others — have
for some time been self-supporting, and prejudice alone would
deny that they have worked for good amongst
Chr^anity ^^e surrounding Gaika, Galeka, and Fingo tribes,
among the Sogo, a member of the Blythswood community.
Southern j^g^g produced a translation of the Pilzrinis
Bantus. „J^ , -iii ttmti ii*
Frogress, described by J. Macdonald as "a
marvel of accuracy and lucidity of expression^ " ; numerous
village schools are eagerly attended, and much land has been
brought under intelligent cultivation.
The French and Swiss Protestant teachers have also
achieved great things in Basutoland, where they were
welcomed by Moshesh, the fouflder of the present Basuto
nation. The tribal system has yielded to a higher social
Cf. G. M. Theal, The History of South Africa 1908-9, and The Beginning
of South African History, 1902.
^ Op. cit. p. 47.
iv] The African Negro: II. 109
organisation, and the Ba-Tau, Ba-Puti, and several other
tribal groups have been merged in industrious pastoral and
agricultural communities professing a somewhat strict form of
Protestant Christianity, and entirely forgetful of the former
heathen practices associated with witchcraft and ancestry-
worship. Moshesh was one of the rare instances among the
Kafirs of a leader endowed with intellectual gifts which placed
him on a level with Europeans. He governed his people
wisely and well for nearly fifty years, and his life-work has left
a permanent mark on South African history \
In Bechuanaland one great personality dominates the social
horizon. Khama, king of the Ba-Mangwato nation, next to
the Ba-Rotse the most powerful section of the
Be-Chuana, may be described as a true father
of his people, a Christian legislator in the better sense of the
term, and an enlightened reformer even from the secular point
of view.
When these triumphs, analogous to those witnessed
amongst the Lacustrians and in other parts of Bantuland,
are contrasted with the dull weight of resistance everywhere
opposed by the full-blood Negro populations to any progress
beyond their present low level of culture, we are the better
able to recognise the marked intellectual superiority of the
negroid Bantu over the pure black element.
West of Bechuanaland the continuity of the Bantu domain
is arrested in the south by the Hottentots, who still hold their
ground in Namaqualand, and farther north by the
few wandering Bushman groups of the Kalahari Ova-Herero
desert. Even in Damaraland, which is mainly
Bantu territory, there are interminglings of long standing that
have given rise to much ethnical confusion. The Ova-Herero.,
who were here dominant, and the kindred Ova-Mpo of
Ovampoland bordering on the Portuguese possessions, are
undoubted Bantus of somewhat fine physique,
though intellectually not specially distinguished. ^^^^ "'"
Owing to the character of the country, a some-
what arid, level steppe between the hills and the coast, they
are often collectively called "Cattle Damaras," or " Damaras
of the Plains," in contradistinction to the " Hill Damaras " of
the coast ranges. To this popular nomenclature is due the
prevalent confusion regarding these aborigines. The term
1 G. Lagden, The Basutos, 1909.
no Man: Past and Present [ch.
"Damara" is of Hottentot origin, and is not recognised by
the local tribes, who all call themselves Ova-Herero, that is,
" Merry People." But there is a marked difference between
the lowlanders and the highlanders, the latter, that is, the
" Hill Damaras," having a strong strain of Hottentot blood,
and being now of Hottentot speech.
The whole region is a land of transition between the two
races, where the struggle for supremacy was scarcely arrested
by the temporary intervention of, German administrators.
Though annexed by Germany in 1884, fighting continued for
ten years longer, and, breaking out again in 1903, was not
subdued until 1908, after the loss to Germany of 5000 lives
and ;^i 5,000,000, while 20,000 to 30,000 of the Herero are
' estimated to have perished. Under the rule of the Union of
South Africa this maltreatment of the natives will never occur
again. Clearness would be gained by substituting for Hill
'Damaras the expression Ova-Zorotu, or " Hillmen," as they
are called by their neighbours of the plains, who should of
course be called Hereros to the absolute exclusion of the
expression "Cattle Damaras." These Hereros show a
singular dislike for salt ; the peculiarity, however, can scarcely
be racial, as it is shared in also by their cattle, and may be due
to the heavy vapours, perhaps slightly charged with saline
particles, which hang so frequently over the coastlarids.
No very sharp ethnical line can be drawn between
Portuguese West Africa and the contiguous portion of the
Belgian Congo south and west of the main stream. In the
coastlands between the Cunene and the Coftgo estuary a few
groups, such as the historical Eshi-Kongo^ and the Kabindas,
have developed some marked characteristics under European
influencesy just as have the cannibal Ma-Nyema of the Upper
Congo through association with the Nubian- Arab slave-
raiders. But with the exception of the Ba-Shilange, the
Ba.-Lolo and one or two others, much the same physical and
mental traits are everywhere presented by the numerous
Bantu populations within the great bend of the Congo.
The people who give their name to this river present
some points of special interest. Jt is commonly supposed that
_, . ^ the old "Kongo Empire" was a creation of
fitaS ° *h^. Portuguese. But Mbanza, afterwards re-
cbristened "San Salvador," was already the
* Variously termed Ba-Kongo, Bashi-Kongo or Ba-Fiot.
iv] The African Negro: II. in
capital of a powerful state when it was first visited by the
expedition of 1491, from which time date its relations with
Portugal. At first the Catholic missionaries had great success,
thousands were at least baptised, and for a moment it seemed
as if all the Congo lands were being swept into the fold.
There were great rejoicings on the conversion of the Mfumu
("Emperor") himself, on whom were lavished honours and
Portuguese titles still borne by his present degenerate
descendant, the Portuguese state pensioner, "Dom Pedro' V,
Catholic King of Kongo and its Dependencies." But
Christianity never Struck very deep roots, and, except in the
vicinity of the Imperial and vassal Courts, heathenish practices
of the worst description were continued down to the middle of
the nineteenth century. About 1870 fresh efforts w6re made
both by Protestant and Catholic missionaries to re-convert
the people, who had little to remind them of their former faith
except the ruins of the cathedral of San Salvador, crucifixes,
banners, and other religious emblems handed down as heir-
looms and regarded as potent fetishes by their owners. A like
fate, it may be incidentally mentioned, has overtaken the
efforts of the Portuguese missionaries to evangelise the natives
of the east coast, where little now survives of their teachings
but snatches of unintelligible songs to the Blessed Virgin, such
as that still chanted by the Lower Zambesi boatmen and
recorded by Mrs Pringle : —
Sinai mattia, sina matnai,
Sina mama Maria, sina mamai...
Mary, I'm alone, mother I have nofte.
Mother I have none, she and father both are gone, etc.'
It is probable that at some remote period the ruling race
reached the west coast from the north-east, and imposed their
Bantu speech on the rude aborigines, by whom ^
it is still spoken over a wide tract of country on LanguagI"
both sides of the Lower Congo. It is an
extremely pure and somewhat archaic member of the Bantu
family, and W. Holman Bentley, our best authority on the
subject, is enthusiastic in praise of its "richness, flexibility,
exactness, subtlety of idea, and nicety of expression/' a
language superior to the people thettfselves, *' ilHtefatfe folk
with an elaborate and regular grammatical system of speech of
> Towards the Mountains of the Moon, 1884, p. 12S.
1 1 2 Man : Past and Present [ch,
such subtlety and exactness of idea that its daily use is in
itself an education'." Kishi-Kongo has the distinction of
being the first Bantu tongue ever reduced to written form,
the oldest known work in the language being a treatise on
Christian Doctrine published in Lisbon in 1624. Since that
time the speech of the " Mociconghi," as Pigafetta calls them^
has undergone but slight phonetic or other change, which is
all the more surprising when we consider the
The Kongo rudeness of the present Mushi-Kongos and
Aborigines. ^7 . .„ . °.,
Others by whom it is still spoken with con-
siderable uniformity. Some of these believe themselves
sprung from trees, as if they had still reminiscences of the
arboreal habits of a pithecoid ancestry.
Amongst the neighbouring Ba-Mba, whose sobas were
formerly ex officio Commanders-in-chief of the Empire, still
dwells a potent being, who is invisible to everybody, and
although mortal never dies, or at least after each dissolution
springs again into life from his remains gathered up by the
Perverted priests. All the young men of the tribe undergo
Christian a similar transformation, being thrown into a
Doctrines. death-like trance by the magic arts of the
medicine-man, and then resuscitated after three days. The
power of causing the cataleptic sleep is said really to exist,
and these strange rites, unknown elsewhere, are probably to
be connected with the resurrection of Christ after three days
and of everybody on the last day as preached by the early
Portuguese evangelists. A volume might be written on the
strange distortions of Christian doctrines amongst savage
peoples unable to grasp their true inwardness.
In Angola the Portuguese distinguish between the Pretos,
that is, the " civilised," and the Negros, or unreclaimed natives.
The Kabindas ^^^ t)Oth terms mean the same thing, as
and "Black also does Ba-Fiot^, "Black People," which is
Jews." applied in an arbitrary way both to the Eshi-
Kongos and their near relations, the Kabindas of the Portuguese
1 Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo Language, 1887, p. xxiii. F. Starr
has published a Bibliography of the Congo Languages, Bull, v., Dept. of Anthro-
pology, University of Chicago, igo8.
2 "Li Mociconghi cosi nomati nel suo proprio idioma gli abitanti del reame
di Congo" {Relatione, etc., Rome, 1591, p. 68). This form is remarkable, being
singular (Moci=Mushi) instead of plural {Eshi) ; yet it is still currently applied
to the rude " Mushi-Kongos " on the south side of the estuary. Their real name
however is Bashi-Kongo. See Brit. Mus. Ethnog. Handbook, p. 219.
' Often written Ba-Fiort with an intrusive r.
iv] The African Negro : II. 113
enclave north of the Lower Congo. These Kabindas, so
named from the seaport of that name on the Loango coast,
are an extremely Intelligent, energetic, and enterprising people,
daring seafarers, and active traders. But they complain of
the keen rivalry of another dark people, the Judeos Pretos, or
"Black Jews," who call themselves Ma-Vambu, and whose
hooked nose combined with other peculiarities has earned for
them their Portuguese name. The Kabindas say that these
" Semitic Negroes " were specially created for the punishment
of other unscrupulous dealers by their ruinous competition
in trade.
A great part of the vast region within the bend of the
Congo is occupied by the Ba-Luba people, whose numerous
branches — Ba-Sange and Ba-Songe about the sources of the
Sankuru, Ba-Shilange {Tushilange) about the Lulua-Kassai
confluence, and many others — extend all the way from the
Kwango basin to Manyemaland. Most of these are Bantus
of the average type, fairly intelligent, industrious and specially
noted for their skill in iron and copper work. Iron ores are
widely diffused and the copper comes from the famous
mines of the Katanga district, of which King Mzidi and his
Wa-Nyamwezi followers were dispossessed by the Congo
Free State in 1892'.
Special attention is claimed by the Ba-Shilange nation,
for Qur knowledge of whom we are indebted chiefly to
C. S. Latrobe Bateman'. These are the people -j-he Tushiiange
whom Wissmann had already referred to as " a Bhang-
nation of thinkers with the interrogative ' why ' S^o^^ers.
constantly on their lips." Bateman also describes them as
" thoroughly honest, brave to foolhardiness, and faithful to
each other. They are prejudiced in favour of foreign customs
and spontaneously copy the usages of civilisation. They are
the only African tribe among whom 1 have observed anything
1 Under Belgian administration much ethnological work has been undertaken,
and published in the Annales du Musie du Congo, notably the magnificent mono-
graph on the Bushongo (Bakubd) by E. Torday and T. A. Joyce, 191 1. See also
H. H. Johnston, George Grenfell and the Congo, 1908 ; M. W. Hilton-Simpson,
Land and Peoples of the Kasai, 191 1 ; E. Torday, Camp and Tramp in African
Wilds, 1913 ; J. H. Weeks, Among Congo Cannibals, 1913, and Among the
Primitive Bakongo, 1914 ; and Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg, From the
Congo to the Niger and the Nile, 191 3.
''■ The First Ascent of the Kassai, 1889, p. 20 sq. See also my communication
to the Academy, April 6, 1889, and Africa (Stanford's Compendium), 1895, Vol. n.
p. 117 sq.
K. 8
114 Man: Past and Present [en.
like a becoming conjugal affection and regard. To say nothing
of such recommendations as theii" emancipation from fetishism,
their ancient abandonment of cannibalism, and their national
unity under the sway of a really princely prince (Kalemba),
I believe them to be the most open to the best influences of
civilisation of any African tribe whatsoever'. Their territory
about the Lulua, affluent of the Kassai, is the so-calljsd Lubuka,
or land of " Friendship," the theatre of a remarkable social
revolution, carried out independently of all European influences,
in fact before the arrival of any whites on the scene. It was
initiated by the secret brotherhood of the Bena-Riamba, or
"Sons of Hemp," established about 1870, when the nation
became divided into two parties over the question
-Progressives " ^^ throwing the country open to foreign trade.
The king having sided with the " Progressives,"
the "Conservatives" were worsted with much bloodshed,
whereupon the barriers of seclusion wet;e swept away. Trading ,
relations being at once established with the outer world, the
custom of riamba (bhang) smoking was unfortunately intro-
duced through the Swahili traders from Zanzibar. The
practice itself soon becarhe associated with mystic rites, and
was followed by a general deterioration of morals. throughout
Tushilangeland .
North of the Ba-Luba follows the great Ba-Lolo nation,
whose domain comprises nearly the whole of the region between
the equator and the left bank of the Congo, and
"Men^nron " whose Kilolo speech is still more widely diffused,
being spoken by perhaps 10,000,000 within the
horseshoe bend. These "Men of Iron" in the sense of
Cromwell's " Ironsides," or "Workers in Iron," as the name
has been diversely interpreted (from lolo, iron), may not be
all that they have been depicted by the glowing pen of
Mrs H. Grattan Guinness''; but nobody will deny their claim
to be regarded as physically, if not mentally, one of the finest
Bantu races. But for the strain of Negro blood betrayed by
the tumid under lip, frizzly hair, and wide nostrils, many might
pass for averi^e Hamites with- high forehead, straight or
aquiline nose, bright eye, and intelligent expression. They
appear to have migrated about a hundred years ago from the
east to their present homes, where they have cleared the land
1 op. cit. p. 20.
^ The New World of Central Africa, 1890, p. 466 sq.
I v] The African Negro : II. 115
both of its forests and the aborigines, brought extensive tracts
under cultivation, and laid out towns in the American chess-
board fashion, but with the houses so wide apart that it takes
hours to traverse them. They are skilled in many crafts,
and understand the division-of-labour principle, " farmers,
gardeners, smiths, boatbuilders, weavers, cabinet-makers,
armourers, warriors, and speakers being already differentiated
amongst them'."
From the east or north-east a' great stream of migration
has also for many years been setting right across the cannibal
zone to the west coast between the Ogowai and .j-j^^ ^^^^
Cameruns estuary. Some of these cannibal Equatorial
bands, collectively known as Fans, Pahuins, Bantus.
iMpangwes^, Oshyebas and by other names, have already
swarmed into the Gabiin and Lower Ogowai districts, where
they have caused a considerable dislocation of the coast tribes.
They are at present the dominant, or at least the most powerful
and dreaded, people in West Equatorial Africa, where nothing
but the intervention of the French administration has pre-
vented them from sweeping the Mpongwes, Mbengas,
Okandas, Ashangos, Ishogos, Ba-Tekes\ and the other mari-
time populations into the Atlantic. Even the great Ba-Kalai
nation, who are also immigrants, but from the r ^ 1 ■
south-east, and who arrived some time before the
Fans, have been hard pressed and driven forward by those
fierce anthropophagists. They are still numerous, certainly
over 100,000, but confined mainly to the left bank of the
Ogowai, where their copper and iron workers have given up
the hopeless struggle to compete with the imported European
wares, and have consequently turned to trade. The Ba-Kalai
are now the chief brokers and middlemen throughout the
equatorial coastlands, and their pure Bantu language is
encroaching on the Mpongwe in the Ogowai basin.
When first heard of by Bowdich in 1819, the Paamways,
as he calls the Fans, were an inland people presenting such
marked Hamitic or Caucasic features that he allied them
' Op. cit. p. 471.
* Tltese Mpangwe savages are constantly confused with the Mpongwes of the
Gabua, a settled Bantu people who have been long in close contact, and on friendly
terms, with the white traders and missionaries in this district.
3 The scanty information about the Ba-Teke is given, with references, by
E. Torday and T. A. Joyce, *' Notes on the Ethnography of the Ba-Hnana,"
Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvi. 1906.
ii6 Man: Past and Present [ch.
with the West Sudanese Fulahs. Since then there have
been inevitable interminglings, by which the
Fans^^*"''*^ type has no doubt been modified, though still
presenting distinct non- Bantu or non- Negro
characters. Burton, Winwood Reade, Oscar Lenz and most
other observers separate them altogether from the Negro
connection, describing them as "well-built, tall
T'^ro°ri\ ^"^ ^^™' "^^^ ^ ^^^^ brown complexion, often
ype, ngin. j^f^iij^j^g to yellow, well-developed beard, and
very prominent frontal bone standing out in a semicircular
protuberance above the superciliary arches. Morally also,
they differ greatly from the Negro, being remarkably intelli-
gent, truthful, and of a serious temperament, seldom laughing
or indulging in the wild orgies of the blacks\"
M. H. Kingsley adds that "the average height in mountain
districts is five feet six to five feet eight (i '67 rh. to 172 m.), the
difference in stature between men and women not being great.
Their countenances are very bright and expressive, and if once
you have been among them, you can never mistake a Fan.
The Fan is full of fire, temper, intelligence and go ; very
teachable, rather difficult to manage, quick to take offence
and utterly indifferent to human life." The cannibalism of
the Fans, though a prevalent habit, is not, according to
Miss Kingsley, due to sacrificial motives. " He does it in his
common sense way. He will eat his next door neighbour's
relations and sell his own deceased to his next door neighbour
in return ; but he does not buy slaves and fatten them up for
his table as some of the Middle Congo tribes do.... He has no
slaves, no prisoners of war, no cemeteries, so you must draw
your own conclusions^" The. Fan language has been grouped
by Sir H. H. Johnston among Bantu tongues, but he describes
it as so corrupt as to be only just recognisable as Bantu. I n
linguistic, physical and mental features they thus show a
remarkable divergence from the pure Negro, suggesting
Hamitic probably Fulah elements.
In the Cameriin region, which still lies within Bantu
territory. Sir H. H. Johnston' divides the numerous local
' My Africa, ll. p. 58. Oscar Lenz, who perhaps knew them best, says : " Gut
gebaut, schlank und kraftig gewachsen, Hautfarbe viel lichter, manchmal stark ins
Gelbe spielend, Haar und Bartwuchs auffallend stark, sehr grosse Kinnbarte"
(Skizzen aus West-Afrika, 1878, p. 73).
^ M. H. Kingsley, Travels in West Africa, 1897, pp. 331-2.
3 Official Report, 1886.
iv] The African Negro : II. 117
tribes into two groups, the aborigines, such as the Ba-
Yong, Ba-Long, Ba-Sa, Abo and Wuri\ and
the later intruders— ^a-A'^^aTw, Ba-Kwiri, SntSJ'"^''"^"
Dwala, " Great Batanga " and Idea — chiefly
from the east and south-east. Best known are the Dwalas
of the Camerun estuary, physically typical Bantus with almost
European features, and well-developed calves, a character
which would alone suffice to separate them from the true
Negro. Nor are these traits due to contact with the white
settlers on the coast, because the Dwalas keep quite aloof,
and are so proud of their " blue blood," that till lately all half-
breeds were "weeded-out," being regarded as monsters who
reflected discredit on the tribe\
Socially the Camerun natives stand at nearly the same low
level of culture as the neighbouring full-blood Negroes of the
Calabar and Niger delta. Indeed the transition Bantu-
in customs and institutions, as well as in physical Sudanese
appearance, is scarcely perceptible between the Borderland,
peoples dwelling north and south of the Rio del Rey, here
the dividing line between the Negro and Bantu lands. The
Ba-Kish of the Meme river, almost last of the Bantus, differ
little except in speech from the Negro Efiks of Old Calabar,
while witchcraft and other gross superstitions were till lately
as rife amongst the Ba-Kwiri and Ba-Kundu tribes of the
western Camerun as anywhere in Negroland. It is not long
since one of the Ba-Kwiri, found guilty of having eaten a
chicken at a missionary's table, was himself eaten by his
fellow clansmen. The law of blood for blood was pitilessly
enforced, and charges of witchcraft were so frequent that
whole villages were depopulated, or abandoned by their
terror-stricken inhabitants. The island of Ambas in the inlet
of like name remained thus for a time absolutely deserted,
" most of the inhabitants having poisoned each other off with
their everlasting ordeals, and the few survivors ending by
dreading the very air they breathed^"
Having thus completed our survey of the Bantu popula-
tions from the central dividing line about the Congo-Chad
water-parting round by the east, south, and west coastlands,
and so back to the Sudanese zone, we may pause to ask,
1 H. H. Johnston, George Grenfell and the Congo... and Notes on the
Cameroons, 1908. ;
2 Reclus, English ed., xii. p. 376.
ii8
Man : Past and Present
[CH.
What routes were followed by the Bantus themselves during
_ . „ the lonof ages required to spread themselves
Early Bantu & & ^- ^ j ^ '^ i • Mi-
Migrations— over an area estimated at nearly six million
a Clue to their square miles? I have estatlished, apparently
Direction. ^^ solid grounds, a fij(,ed point of initial dis-
persion in the extreme north-east, and allusion has frequently
been made to migratory movements, some even now going
on, generally from east to west, and, on the east side of the
continent, from north to south, with here an important but
still quite recent reflux from Zululand back nearly to Victoria
Nyanza. If a parallel current be postulated as setting on
the Atlantic side in prehistoric times from south to north,
from Hereroland to the Cameriins, or possibly the other
way, we shall have nearly all the factors needed to explain
the general dispersion of the Bantu peoples over their vast
domain.
Support is given to this view by the curious distribution
of the two chief Bantu names of the "Supreme Being," to
which incidental reference has already been made. As first
Eastern pointed out I think by Dr Bleek, [M)unkulun-
Ancestry and kulu with its numerous variants prevails along
Western Nature |.]^g eastern seaboard, Nzambi along: the western,
Worshippers. i i i ■ r ^ ■ <■ , ■^
and both in many parts of the interior ; while
here and there the two meet, as if to indicate prehistoric
interminglings of two great primeval migratory movements.
From the subjoined table a clear idea may be had of the
general distribution :
a,
■a
a
o
MUNKULUNKULU
''Mpondo: Ukulukillu
Zulu: Unkulunkulu
Inhambane: Mulungulu
Sofala: Murun'gu
Be-Chuana: Mulungulu
Lake Moero; Mulungu
Lake Tanganyika : Mulungu
Makua: Moloko
Quillimane : Mlugu
Lake Bangweolo : Mungu
Tete, Zambesi : Muungu
Nyasaland : Murungu
Swahili : Muungu
Giryama : Mulungu
Pokotno : l^ungo
Nyika : Mulungu
Kamba: Mulungu
Yanzi : Molongo
Herero : Mukuru
Nzambi
Eshi-Kongo : Nzambi
Kabinda : Nzambi Pongo
Lunda : Zambi
Ba-Teke: Nzam
Ba-Rotse : Nyampe
Bih^ : Nzambi
Loango : Zambi, Nyambi
Bunda: Onzambi
Ba-Ngala : Nsambi
Ba-Kele : Nshambi
Rungu : Anyambi
Ashira: Aniembie
Mpongwe: Njambi
Benga : Anyambi
Dwala : Nyambi
Yanzi : Nyambi
Herero: Ndyambi
^ ^
rt
p
a-
o
f>
Cl.
iv] The African Negro: II. 1 19
Of Munkulunkulu the primitive idea is clear .enough from
its best preserved form, the Zulu Unkulunkulu, which is a
repetitive of the root inkulu, great, old, hence a deification of
the great departed, a direct outcome of the ancestry-worship
so universal amongst Negro and Bantu peoples'. Thus Un-
kulunkulu becomes the direct progenitor of the Zulu-Xosas :
Unkulunkulu ukobu wetu. But the fundamental meaning of
Nzambi is unknown. The root does not occur in Kishi-
Kongo, and Bentley rightly rejects Kolbe's far-fetched
explanation from the Herero, adding that " the knowledge of
God is most vague, scarcely more than nominal. There is no
worship paid to God^"
More probable sqems W. H. Tooke's suggestion that
Nzambi is "a Nature spirit like Zeus or Indra," and that,
while the eastern Bantus are ancestor- worshippers, " the
western adherents of Nzambi are more or less Nature-
worshippers. In this respect they appear to approach the
Negroes of the Gold, Slave, and Oil Coasts'." No doubt
the cult of the dead prevails also in this region, but here it is
combined with naturalistic forms of belief, as on the Gold
Coast, where Bobowissi, chief god of all the southern tribes,
is the " Blower of Clouds," the " Rain-maker," and on the
Slave Coast, where the Dahoman Mawu and the Yoruba
Olorun are the Sky or Rain, and the "Owner of the Sky"'
(the deified Firmament), respectively*.
It would therefore seem probable that the Munkulunkulu
peoples from the north-east gradually spread by the indicated
routes over the whole of Bantuland, everywhere imposing
their speech, general culture, and ancestor-w.orship on the
pre-Bantu aborigines, except along the Atlantic coastlands
and in parts of the interior. Here the primitive Nature-
worship, embodied in Nzambi, held and still holds its ground,
both meeting on equal terms — as shown in the above table^
' So also in Minahassa, Celebes, Empung, " Grandfather," is the generic name
of the gods. " The fundamental ideas of primitive man are the same all <he world
over. Just as the little black baby of the Negro, the brown baby of the Malay, the
yellow baby of the Chinaman are in face and form, in gestures and habits, as well
as in the first articulate sounds they mutter, very much alike, 'so the mind of man,
whether he be Aryan or Malay, Mongolian or Negrito, has in the course of its
evolution passed through stages which are practically identical" (Sydney J. Hick-
son, A Naturalist in North Celebes, 1889, p. 240).
2 Op. cit. p. 96.
3 "The God of the Ethiopians," in Nature, May 26, 1892.
^ A. B. Ellis, Tshi, p. 23 ; Ewe, p. 31 ; Yoruba, p. 36.
I20 Man: Past and Present [ch.
amongst the Ba-Yanzi, the Ova,-Herero, and the Be-Chuanas
{Mulungulu generally, but Nyampe in Barotseland), and no
doubt in other inland regions. But the absolute supremacy
of one on the east, and of the other on the west,
Cone usion. ^. ^^ ^^ ^^^ continent, seems conclusive as to the
general streams of migration, while the amazing uniformity
of nomenclature is but another illustration of the almost
incredible persistence of Bantu speech amongst these multi-
tudinous illiterate populations for an incalculable period of
time\
The Vaalpens and the Strandloopers.
Among the ethnological problems of Africa may be
reckoned the Vaalpens and the Strandloopers. Along the
banks of the Limpopo between the Transvaal
v^^ns^ ""^ ^"'^ Southern Rhodesia there are scattered a
few small groups of an extremely primitive
people who are generally confounded with the Bushrnen, but
differ in some important respects from that race. They are
the "Earthmen" of some writers, but their real name is
Kattea, though called by their neighbours either Ma Sarwa
("Bad People") or Vaalpens {"Grey Paunches") from the
'khaki colour acquired by their bodies from creeping on all
fours into their underground hovels. But the true colour is
almost a pitch black, and as they are only about four feet high
they are quite distinct both from the tall Bantus and the
yellowish Hottentot-Bushmen. For the Zulus they are mere
"dogs" or "vultures," and are certainly the most degraded
of all the aborigines, being undoubtedly cannibals, eating their
own aged and infirm like some of the Amazonian tribes.
Their habitations are holes in the ground, rock-shelters, or
caves, or lately a few hovels of mud and foliage at the foot
of the hills. Of their speech nothing is known except that
it is absolutely distinct both from the Bantu and the Bushman.
There are no arts or industries of any kind, not even any
weapons beyond those procured in exchange for ostrich
feathers, skins or ivory.^ But they can make fire, and are
thus able to cook the offal thrown to them by the Boers in
1 Cf. E. S. Hartland, Art. " Bantu and S. Africa," £ncy. of Religion and
Ethics, 1909.
iv] The African Negro: II. 121
return for their help in skinning the captured game. Whether
they have any rehgious ideas it is impossible to say, all inter
course with the surrounding peoples being restricted to barter
carried on with gesture language for nobody has ever yet
mastered their tongue. A "chief" is spoken of, but he is
merely a headman who presides over the little family groups
of from thirty to fifty (there are no tribes properly so called),
and whose purely domestic functions are acquired, not by
heredity, but by personal worth, that is, physical strength.
Altogether the Kattea is perhaps the most perfect embodi-
ment of the pure savage still anywhere surviving'.
When the Hottentots of South Africa were questioned
by scientific men a hundred years ago and niore regarding
their traditions, they were wont to refer to their
predecessors on the coast of South Africa as a j^opers'^^'*'
savage race living on the seashore and subsisting
on shellfish and the bodies of stranded whales. From their
habits these were styled in Dutch the Strandloopers or "Shore-
runners^" According to F. C. Shrubsall the Strandlooper of
the Cape Colony caves preceded the Bushman in South
Africa. They were a race of short but not dwarfish men
with a much higher skull capacity than that of the average
Bush race. The extreme of cranial capacity in the Strand-
loopers was a maximum of over 1600 c.c, while the extreme
minimum among the Bush people descends as low as 955 c.c.
The frontal region of the skull is much better developed than
in the Bush race, and in that respect is more like the Negro.
There is little or no brow prominence and one at least of the
skulls is as orthognathous in facial angle as that of a European.
L. Peringuey remarks also that the type was less dolicho-
cephalic than the Bushmen and Hottentots, under 80 in
cephalic index. "He was artistically gifted, Hke the race
which occupied and decorated the Altamira...and other caves
of Spain and France. He painted ; he possibly carved on
rocks ; he used bone tools ; he made pottery ; he perforated
stones for either heading clubs or to be used as make-weights
for digging tools ; his ornaments consisted of sea-shells ; and
the ostrich egg-shell discs which he made may be said to be
' This account of the Vaalpens is taken from A. H. Keane, The World's
Peoples, 1908, p. 149.
2 This sumnlary of our information about the Strandloopers, with quotations
from F. C. Shrubsall and L. Peringuey, is taken from H. H. Johnston, " A Survey
of the Ethnography of Ainca." /ourn. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xliii. 1913, p. 377.
122
Man: Past and Present [ch.
a typical product of his industry. And this culture is retained
in South Africa by a kindred race, but more dolichocephalic —
the Bushmen- Hottentots. Analogous are most of his tools
and his expressions of culture to 'those of Aurignacia.n
man."
The Negrilloes.
The proper domain of the African Negrilloes is the inter-
tropical forest-land, although they appear to be at present
Th N rill confined to somewhat narrow limits, between
eg oes. ^^^^ gjj^ degrees of latitude north and south of
the equator, unless the Bushmen be included. But formerly
they probably ranged much farther north, and in historic
times were certainly known in Egypt some 4000 or 5000 years
ago. This is evident from the frequent references to them
in the " Book of the Dead" as far back as the 6th Dynasty.
Like the" dwarfs in medieval times, they were in high request
NegriUoesat ^^ the courts of the Pharaohs, who sent expedi-
the Courts of tions to fetch these Danga {Tank) from the
the Pharaohs. „ Island of the Double," that is, the fabulous
region of Shade Land beyond Punt, where they dwelt. The
first of whom there is authentic record was brought from this
region, apparently the White Nile, to King Assa (3300 B.C.)
by his officer, Baurtet. Some 70 years later Heru-Khuf,
another officer, was sent by Pepi II "to bring back a pygmy
alive and in good health," from the land of great trees away
to the south\ That the Danga came from the south we know
from a later inscription at Karnak, and that the word meant
dwarf is clear from the accompanying determinative of a
short person of stunted growth.
It is curious to note in this connection that the limestone
statue of the dwarf Nem-hotep, found in his tomb at Sakkara
and, figured by Ernest Grosse, has a thick elongated head
suggesting artificial deformation, unshapely mouth, dull ex-
pression, strong full chest, and small deformed feet, on which
he seems badly balanced. It will be remembered that
Schweinfurth's Akkas from Mangbattuland were also repre-
sented as top-heavy, although the best observers, Junker and
others, describe those of the Welle and Congo forests ^s
shapely and by no means ill-proportioned.
' Schiaparelli, Una Totnba Egiziana, Rome, 1893.
iv] The African Negro: II. 123
KoUmann also, who has examined the remains of the
Neolithic pygmies from the Schweizersbild Station, Switzer-
land, " is quite certain that the dwarf-like pro- Negriiloes
portions of the latter have nothing in common and Pygmy
with diseased conditions. This, from many Folklore,
points of view, is a highly interesting discovery. It is
possible, as Niiesch suggests, that the widely-spread legend
as to the former existence of little men, dwarfs and gnomes,
who were supposed to haunt caves and retired places in the
mountains, may be a reminiscence of these Neolithic pygmies^"
■ This is what may be called- the picturesque aspect of the
Negrillo question, which it seems almost a pity to spoil by
too severe a criticism. But " ethnologic truth " obliges us to
say that the identification of the African Negrillo with
Kollmann's European dwarfs still lacks scientific proof.
Even craniology fails us here, and although the Negriiloes
are in great majority round-headed, R. Verneau has shown
that there may be exceptions^ while the theory of the general
uniformity of the physical type has broken down at some
other points. Thus the Dume, south of Galla- The Dume and
land, discovered by Donaldson Smith' in the Doko, reputed
district where the Doko Negriiloes had long been '^'^^''^^•
heard of, and even seen by Antoine d'Abbadie in 1843, were
found to average five feet, or more than one foot over the
mean of the true Negrillo. D'Abbadie in fact declared that
his "Dokos" were not pygmies at all\ while Donaldson
Smith now tells us that " doko " is only a term of contempt
applied by the local tribes to their "poor relations." "Their
chief characteristics were a black skin, round features, woolly
hair, small oval-shaped eyes, rather thick lips, high cheek-
bones, a broad forehead, and very well formed bodies "
(P- 273)- . . • •,
, The expression of the eye was canine, "sometimes timid
and suspicious-looking, sometimes very amiable and merry,
and then again changing suddenly to a look of intense anger."
» James Geikie, Scottish Geogr. Mag. Sept. 1897.
=* Thus he finds {L'AnthropoloPie, 1896, p. 153) a presumably Negrillo skull
from the Babinga district, Middle Sangha river, to be distinctly long-headed (73-2)
with, for this race, the enormous cranial capacity of about 1440 c.c. Cf. the Akka
measured by Sir W. Flower (1372 c.c), and his Andamanese (1128), the highest
hitherto known being 1200 (Virchow).
3 Through Unknown African Countries, etc., 1897.
* Bui. Soc. Gdogr. xix. p. 440.
124 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Pygmies, he adds, " inhabited the whole of the countf y north
of Lakes Stephanie and Rudolf long before any of the tribes
now to be found in the neighbourhood ; but they have been
gradually killed off in war, and have lost their characteristics
by inter-marriage with people of large stature, so that only
this one little remnant, the Dume, remains to prove the
existence of a pygmy race. Formerly they lived principally
by hunting, and they still kill a great many elephants with
their poisoned arrows" (pp. 274-5).
Some of these remarks apply also to the Wandorobbo,
another small people who range nearly as far north as the
Dume, but are found chiefly farther south all
So^^unters. ^^^^^ Masailand, and belong, I have little doubt,
to the same connection. They are the hench-
men of the Masai, whom they provide with big game in
return for divers services.
Those met -by W. Astor Chanler were also " armed with
bows and arrows, and each carried an elephant-spear, which
they called bonati. This spear is six feet in length, thick at
either end, and narrowed where grasped by the hand. In
one end is bored a hole, into which is fitted an arrow two feet
long, as thick as one's thumb, and with a head two inches
broad. Their method of killing elephants is to creep
cautiously up to the beast, and drive a spear into its loin.
A quick twist separates the spear froni the arrow, and they
make off as fast and silently as possible. In all cases the
arrows are poisoned ; and if they are well introduced into the
animal's body, the elephant does not go far'."
From some of the peculiarities of the Achua (Wochua)
Negrilloes met by Junker south of the Welle one can under-
stand why these little people were such favourites
M^mi^""*""* with the old Egyptian kings. These were
" distinguished by .sharp powers of observation,
amazing talent for mimicry, and a good memory. A striking
proof of this was afforded by an Achua whom I had seen and
measured four years previously in Rumbek, and now again
met at Gambari's. His comic ways and quick nimble move-
ments made this little fellow the clown of our society. He
imitated with marvellous fidelity the peculiarities of persons
whom he had once seen ; for instance, the gestures and facial
^ Through Jungle and Desert, 1896, pp. 358-9.
iv] The African Negro: II. 125
expressions of Jussuf Pasha esh-Shelahis and of Haj Halil
at their devotions, as well as the address and movements of
Emin Pasha, 'with the four eyes' (spectacles). His imitation
of Hawash Effendi in a towering rage, storming and abusing
everybody, was a great success ; and now he took me off to
the life, rehearsing after four years, down to the minutest
details, and with surprising accuracy, my anthropometric per-
formance when measuring his body at Rumbek\"
A somewhat similar account is given by Ludwig Wolf of
the Ba-Twa pygmies visited by him and Wissmann in the
Kassai region. Here are whole villages in the forest-glades
inhabited by little people with an average height of about
4 feet 3 inches. They are nomads, occupied exclusively with
hunting and the preparation of palm-wine, and are regarded
by their Ba-Kubu neighbours as benevolent little people,
whose special mission is to provide the surrounding tribes
with game and palm-wine in exchange for manioc, maize, and
bananas'.
Despite the above-mentioned deviations, occurring chiefly
about the borderlands, considerable uniformity both of physical
and mental characters is found to prevail amongst the typical
Negrillo groups scattered in small hunting communities all
over the Welle, Semliki, Congo, and Ogowai woodlands.
Their main characters are thus described. Their skin is of
a reddish or yellowish brown in colour, sometimes very dark.
Their height varies from i"37 m. to r45 m. (4 ft. 4:^ in. to
4 ft. 9:1^ in.'). Their hair is very short and woolly, usually of
a dark rusty brown colour ; the face hair is variable, but the
body is usually covered with a light downy hair. The cephalic
index is 79. The nose is very broad and exceptionally
flattened at the root ; the lips are usually thin, and the upper
one long ; the eyes are protuberant ; the face is sometimes
prognathic. Steatopygia occurs. They are a markedly in-
telligent people, innately musical, cunning, revengeful and
suspicious in disposition, but they never steal.
They are nomadic hunters and collectors, never resorting
to agriculture. They have no domestic animals. Only meat
is cooked. They wear no clothing. They use bows and
1 Travels, ni. p. 86.
2 Jm Innern Afrikds, p. 259 sq. As stated in Eth. Ch. XI. Dr Wolf connects
all these Negrillo peoples with the Bushmen south of the Zambesi.
3 One of the Mambute brought to England by Col. Harrison m 1906 measured
just over 3^ feet.
126 Man: Pasi and Present [ch.
poisoned arrows. Their language is unknown. They live
in small communities which centre round a cunning fighter
or able hunter. Their dead are buried in the ground. They
differ- from surrounding Negroes in having no veneration for
the departed, no amulets, no magicians or professional priests.
They have charms for ensuring luck in hunting, but it is
uncertain whether these charms derive their potency from the
supreme being, though evidence of belief in a high-god is
reported from various pygmy peoples \
The Bushmen and Hottentots.
Towards the south the Negrillo domain was formerly
conterminous with that of the Bushmen, of whom traces were
Bushmen discovered by Sir H. H. Johnston' as far north
and Hottentots, as Lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika, and who, it
Former and }^a.s been conjectured,, belong to the same, primi-
ange. ^.^^ stock. The differences mental and physical
now separating the two sections of the family may perhaps
be explained by the different, environments — hot, moist and
densely wooded in the north, and open steppes in the south —
but until more is known of the African pygmies their affinities
must remain undecided.
The relationship between the Bushmen and the Hottentots
is another disputed question. Early authorities regarded the
Hottentots as the parent family, and the Bushmen as the
offspring, but the researches of Gustav Fritsch, E. T. Hamy,
F. ShrubsalP and others show that the Hottentots are a cross
between the Bushmen — the primitive race: — and the Bantu,
the Bushman element being seen in the leathery colour,
prominent cheek-bones, pointed chin, steatopygia and other
special characters.
1 See A. C. Haddon, Art. "Negrillos and Negritos," Ency. of Religio* <a.»d
Ethics, 1 91 7.
^ " It would seem as if the earliest known race of man inhabiting what is
now British Central Africa was akin to the Bushman-Hottentot type of Negro.
Rounded stones with a hole through the centre, similar to those which are used
by the Bushmen in the south for weighting their digging-sticks, have been found
at the south end of Lake Tanganyika. I have heard that other examples of these
' Bushman ' stones hav^ been found nearer to Lake Nyasa, etc." {British Cefttral
Africa, p. 52).
' G. Fritsch, Die Ein-geborenen Siid-Afrikas, 1872,' " Schilderungen ' der
Hottentotten," Globus, 1875, p. 374 ff. ; E. T. Hamy, « Les Races n^gres,"
D Anthropologie, 1S97, p. 257 if. ; F. ShrwbsaW, "Crania of African Bush RaiceSif
Journ. Anthr. Inst. 1897. See also G. McCall Theal, The Yellow and Dark-
skinned People South of the Zambesi, 1910. _ ,j
iv] The African Negro: II. lo.'-j
In prehistoric times the Hottentots ranged over, a vast
area. Evidence has now been produced of the presence of
a belated Hottentot or Hottentot- Bushman group
as far north as the Kwa-Kokue district, between sm<S'
Kilimanjaro and Victoria Nyanza. The Wa-
Sandawz people here visited by Oskar Neumann are not Bantus,
and speak a language radically distinct from that of the
neighbouring Bantus, but full of clicks like that of the Bush-
men'. Two Sandawi skulls examined by Virchow" showed
distinct Hottentot characters, with a cranial capacity of 1250
and 1265 c.c, projecting upper jaw and orthodolicho head^
The geographical prefix J^wa, common in the district (Kwa-
Kokue, Kwa-Mtoro, Kwa-Hindi), is pure Hottentot, meaning
"people," like the post^x g'ua [Kwa) of Korsi-qua, Nama-^«fl,
etc. in the present Hottentot domain. The transposition of
prefixes and postfixes is a common linguistic phenomenon,
as seen in the Sumero -Akkadian of Babylonia, in the NeO-
Sanskritic tongues of India, and the Latin, Oscan, and other
members of the Old Italic group.
Farther south a widely-diffused Hottentot- Bushman geo-
graphical terminology attests the former range of this primitive
race all over South Africa, as far north as the
Zambesi. Lichtenstein had already discovered Geographical
such traces in the Zulu country*, and Vater Names in
points out that "for some districts the fact has ^^^^^^^
been fully established ; mountains and rivers now occupied by
the Koossa [Ama-Xosa] preserve in their Hottentot names
the certain proof that they at one time formed a permanent
possession of this peopled"
Thanks to the custom of raising heaps of stones or cairns
over the graves of renowned chiefs, the migrations of the
' " I have not been able to trace much affinity in word roots between this
language and either Bushman or Hottentot, though it is noteworthy that the word
for four.. .is almost identical with the word for four in all the Hottentot, dialects,
while the phonology of the language is reminiscent of Bushmen in its nasals and
gutturals" {H. H. Johnston, "Survey of the Ethnography of Africa," Joum. Roy.
Anthr. Inst. XLIH. 19 13, p. 380).
2 Verhandl. Berliner Gesellsch. f. Anthrop. 1895, p. 59.
^ Of another stull undoubtedly Hottentot, from a cave on the Transvaal and
Orange Free State frontier, Dr Mies remarks that "seine Form ist orthodolicho-
cephai wie bei den Wassandaui," although differing in some other characters {Cen-
tralU. f. Anthr. 1896, p. 50).
* From which he adds that the Hottentots "sohon lange vor der Portu-
giesischen UmschiflSang Afrika's von Kaffer-Stammen wieder zuriickgedrangt
wurden " {Reisen, I. p. 400).
* Adelung und Vater, Berlin, 1812, in. p. 390.
128 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Hottentots may be followed in various directions to the very
heart of South Zambesia. Here the memory of their former
presence is perpetuated in the names of such water-courses as
Nos-ob, Up, Mol-opo, Hyg-ap, Gar-ib, in which the syllables
ob, up, ap, ib and others are variants of the Hottentot word
ib, ip, water, river, aS in Gar-ib, the " Great River," now
better known as the Orange River. The same indications
may be traced right across the continent to the Atlantic, where
nearly all the coast streams — even in Hereroland, where the
language has long been extinct— have the same ending'.
On the west side the Bushmen are still heard of as far
north as the Cunene, and in the interior beyond Lake Ngami
nearly to the right bank of the Zambesi. But the Hottentots
are now confined mainly to Great and Little Namaqualand.
E^se^yhere there appear to be no full-blood natives
di»pp^iig. °^ ^^^ '^'^^^' ^^ Koraquas, Gonaquas, Griquas, etc.
being all Hottentot- Boer or Hottentot- Bantu
half-castes of Dutch speech. In Cape Colony the tribal
organisation ceased to exist in x8io, when the last Hottentot
chief was replaced by a . European magistrate. Still the
K'oraquas keep themselves somewhat distinct about the
Upper Orange and Vaal- Rivers, and the Griquas in Griqua-
land East, while the Gonaquas, that is, " Borderers," are
being gradually merged in the Bantu populations of the
Eastern Provinces. There are at present scarcely 180,000
south of the Orange River, and of these the great majority
are half-breedsl
Despite their extremely low state of culture, or, one might
say, the almost total lack of culture, the Bushmen are dis-
tinguished by two remarkable qualities, a fine sense of pictorial
Bushman P*" graphic art', and a rich imagination displayed
Folklore in a copious oral folklore, much of which, collected
Literature. ^y Bleek, is preserved in manuscript form in Sir
George Grey's library at Cape Town^ The materials here
stored for future use, perhaps long after the race itself has
vanished for ever, comprise no less than 84 thick volumes of
1 Such are, going north from below Walvisch Bay, Chuntop, Kuisip, Swakop,
Ugab, Huab, Uniab, Hoanib, Kaurasib, and Khomeb.
2 The returns for 1904 showed a "Hottentot" population of 85,892, but very
few were pure Hottentots. The official estimate of those in which Hottentot blood
was strongly marked was 56,000.
^ M. H. Tongue and E. D. Bleek, Bushman Paintings, 1909. Cf. W. J. SoUas
Ancient Hunters, 191 5, p. 399, with bibUography. '
* W. H. I. Bleek and L. C. Lloyd, Bushman Folklore, 191 1.
iv] The African Negro : II. 1 29
3600 -double-column pages, besides an unfinished Bushman
dictionary with 1 1,090 entries. There are two great sections,
(i) Myths, fables, legends and poetry, with tales about the sun
and moon, the stars, the Mantis and other animals, legends
of peoples who dwelt in the land before the Bushmen, songs,
charms, and even prayers ; (2) Histories, adventures of men
and animals, customs, superstitions, genealogies, and so on.
In the tales and myths the sun, moon, and animals speak
either with their own proper clicks, or else use the ordinary
clicks in some way peculiar to themselves.
Thus Bleek tells us that the tortoise changes Hottentot
clicks in labials, the ichneumon in palatals, the Language and
jackal substitutes linguo-palatals for labials, while ^'"='"-
the moon, hare, and ant-eater use "a most unpronounceable
click " of their own. How many there may be altogether, not
one of which can be properly uttered by Europeans, nobody
seems to know. But grammarians have enumerated nine,
indicated each by ^ a graphic sign as under :
Cerebral ! Palatal j
Dental | Lateral (Faucal) ||
Guttural i Labial []
Spiro-dental 7 Linguo-palatal . . . □
Undefined x
From Bushman — a language in a state of flux, fragmentary
as the small tribal or rather family groups that speak it* —
these strange inarticulate sounds passed to the number of four
into the remotely related Hottentot, and thence to the number
of three into the wholly unconnected Zulu-Xosa. But they
are heard nowhere else to my knowledge except amongst the
newly-discovered Wa-Sandawi people of South Masailand.
At the same time we know next to nothing of the Negrillo
tongues, and should clicks be discovered to form an element
in their phonetic system also", it would support the assumption
of a common origin of all these dwarfish races now somewhat
discredited on anatomical grounds.
M. G. Bertin, to whom we are indebted for an excellent
■ See W. Planert, " Uber die Sprache der Hottentotten und Buschmanner,''
Mitt. d. Seminars/. Oriental. Sprachen z. Berlin, vill. (1905), Abt. III. 104-176.
2 " In the Pygmies of the north-eastern corner of the Congo basin and amongst'
the Bantu tribes of the Equatorial East African coast there is a tendency to faucal
gasps or explosive consonants which suggests the vanishing influence of clicks."
H. H. Johnston, " A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa," Journ. Roy. Anthr.
Inst. XLUI. 191 3,
K. 9
130 Man: Past, and Present [ch.
monograph on the Bushman", rightly remarks that he is not,
Bushman ^^ least mentally, so debased as iie has been
Mental described by the early travellers and by the
Characters. neighbouring Bantus and Boers, by whom he
has always been despised and harried. "His greatest love
is for freedom, he acknowledges no master, and possesses no
slaves. It is this love of independence which made him prefer
the wandering life of a hunter to that of a peaceful agriculturist
or shepherd, as the Hottentot. He rarely builds a hut, but
prefers for abode the natural caves he finds in the rocks. In
other localities he forms a kind of nest in the bush — hence his
name of Bushman — or digs with his nails subterranean caves,
from which he has received the name of ' Earthman.' His
garments consist only of a small skin. His weapons are still
the spear, arrow and bow in their most rudimentary form.
The spear is a mere branch of a tree, to which is tied a piece
of bone or flint ; the arrow is only a reed treated in the same
way. The arrow and spear-heads are always poisoned, to
render mortal the slight wounds they inflict. He gathers no
flocks, which would impede his movements, and only accepts
the help of dogs as wild as himself. The Bushmen have,
however, one implement, a rounded stone perforated in the
middle, in which is inserted a piece of wood ; with this
instrument, which carries us back to the first age of man, they
dig up a few edible roots growing wild in the desert. To
produce fire, he still retains the primitive system of rubbing
two pieces of wood — another prehistoric survival." ,
Toiiching their name, it is obvious that these scattered
groups, without hereditary chiefs or social organisation of any
kind, could have no collective designation. ' The
Race^o^es. '^"^"^ Khuai, of uncertain meaning, but prqbably
to be equated with the Hottentot Khoi," Men,"
is the name only of a single group, though often applied; to the
whole race. Saan, their Hottentot name, is the plural/of Sa,
a term also of uncertain origin ; Ba-roa, current amongst the
Be-Chuanas, has not been explained, while the Zulu Abatwa
would seem to connect them even by name with Wolf's and
Stanley's Ba- Twa of the Congo forest region. Other so-called
tribal names (there are no "tribes" in the strict sense of the
word) are either nicknames imposed upon them by their
' " The Bushmen and their Language," in Journ. R. Asiatic Soc. xviil. Part I.
iv] The African Negro: II. 131
neighbours, or else terms taken from the localities, as amongst
the Fuegians.
We may conclude with the words of W. J. Sollas : " The
more we know of these wonderful little people the more we
learn to admire and like them. To many solid virtues —
untiring energy, boundless patience, and fertile invention,
steadfast courage, devoted loyalty, and family affection — they
added a native refinement of manners and a rare aesthetic
sense. We may learn from them, how far the finer excellences
of life may be attained in the hunting stage. In their golden
age, before the coming of civilised man, they enjoyed their life
to the full, glad with the gladness of primeval creatures. The
story of their later days, their extermination and the cruel
manner of it, is a tale of horror on which we do not care to
dwell. They haunt no more the sunlit veldt, their hunting is
over, their nation is destroyed ; but they leave behind an
imperishable memory, they have immortalised themselves in
their art'."
' Ancient Hunters, 1915, p. 425.
9—2
CHAPTER V
THE OCEANIC NEGROES: PAPUASIANS (PAPUANS AND
MELANESIANS)— NEGRITOES— TASMANIANS
General Ethnical Relations in Oceania — The terms Papuan, Melanesian and
Papuasian defined — The Papuasian Domain, Past and Present — Papuans
and Melanesians — Physical Characters : Papuan, Papuo-Melanesian, Mela-
nesian— The New Caledonians — Physical Characters — Food Question —
General Survey of Melanesian Ethnology — Cultural Problems — Kava-drink-
ing and Betel-chewing — Stone Monuments — The Dual People — Summary of '
Culture Strata — Melanesian Culture — Dress — Houses — Weapons — Canoes,
etc. — Social Life — Secret Societies — Clubs — Religion — Western Papuasia- —
Ethnical Elements — Region of Transition by Displacements and Crossings
— Papuan and Malay Contrasts — Ethnical and Biological Divides — The
Negritoes — The Andamanese — Stone Age — Personal Appearance — Social
Life — Religion — Speech — Method of Counting — Grammatical Structure — The
Semangs — Physical Appearance-;— Usages — Speech — Stone Age — The Aetas
— Head-hunters — New Guinea Pygmies — Negrito Culture — The Tasmanians
— Tasmanian Culture — Fire Making — Tools and Weapons — Diet — Dwellings
— Extinction.
Conspectus.
Present Range. Papuasian : East Malaysia, New
Distribution in Guinea, Melanesia; Tasmanian: extinct; Ne-
Past and grito : Andamans, Malay Peninsula, Philippines,
Present Times. j^^^ Guinea.
Hair. Papuasian : black, frizzly, mop-like, beard scanty
or absent ; Tasmanian : black, shorter and less
Ch^arters mop-Uke than Papuasian; Negrito : short, woolly
or frizzly, black, sometimes tinged with brown
or red.
Colour. All : very deep shades of chocolate brown, often
verging on black, a very constant character, lighter shades
showing m.ixlure.
Skull. Papuasian : extremely dolichocephalic (68-75)
and high, but very variable in areas of m,ixture (70-84) ;
Tasmanian: dolichocephalic or mesaticephalic {j ^•, Negrito:
br achy cephalic (80-85),
Jaws. Papuasian : moderately or not at all prognathous ;
Tasmanian a^^ Negrito: generally prognathous. Cheek-
CH. v] The Oceanic Negroes 133
bones. All : slightly prominent or even retreating. Nose.
Papuasian : large, straight, generally aquiline in true Pa-
puans; Tasmanian and Negrito: short, flat, broad, wide
nostrils {platyrrhine) with large thick cartilage. Eyes. All :
moderately large, round and black or very deep brown, with
dirty yellowish cornea, generally deep-set with strong over-
hanging arches.
Stature. Papuasian and Tasmanian : above the average,
but variable, with rather wide range from, r62 m. to i"j'j or
1-82 m. {s/t. 4 in. to s ft. 10 in. or 6/t.) ; Negrito : under-
sized, but taller than African Negrillo, I'^^y m. to 1*52 w.
(4.//. 6 in. to Sft.).
Temperament. Papuasian : very excitable, voluble and
laughter-loving, fairly intelligent and imaginative', Tas-
njianian : distinctly less excitable and intelligent,
but also far less cruel, captives never tortured: ?!if "**'•.
»f . •' . .,.', . •/• Unaracters.
N egnto : active, quick-witted or cunning withm
narrow limits, naturally kind and gentle.
Speech. Papuasian and Tasmanian : agglutinating with
postfixes, many stock languages in West Papuasia, apparently
one only in East Papuasia {Austronesian) ; Negrito : scarcely
known except in Andamans, where agglutination both by class
prefixes and by postfixes has acquired a phenomenal development.
Religion. Papuasian : reverence paid to ancestors, who
m-ay become beneficent or m^alevolent ghosts ; general belief in
mana or supernatural power ; no priests or idols; Negrito:
exceedingly primitive; belief in spirits, sometimes vague
deities.
Culture. Papuasian : slightly developed; agriculture
somewhat advanced {N. Guinea, N. Caledonia); considerable
artistic taste and fancy shown in the wood-carving of houses,
canoes, ceremonial objects, etc. All others : at the lowest
hunting stage, without arts or industries, save the manufacture
of weapons, ornam.ents, baskets, and rarely [Andamanese)
pottery.
Papuasian: i. Western Papuasians {true Papuans):
nearly all the New Guinea natives; Aru and other insular
groups thence westwards to Flores; Torres ... _,. . .
^_ -^. , _ ■ ■ 1 T 1 1 T- Main Divisions.
Straits and Louisiade Islands. 2. Eastern
Papuasians : nearly all the natives of Melanesia from Bis-
marck Archipelago to New Caledonia, with most of Fiji,
and part of New Guinea. ^
134 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Negritoes: i. Andamanese Islanders. 2. Semangs,
in the Malay Peninsula. 3. Aetas, surviving in most of the
Philippine Islands. 4. Pygmies in New Guinea.
Papuasians.
From the data supplied in Ethnology, Chap, XI. a recon-
struction may be attempted of the obscure ethnical relations
in Australasia on the following broad lines'.
Ethnical I- The two main sections of the Ulotrichous
Relations in division of mankind, now separated by the inter-
ceania. vening waters of the Indian Ocean, are funda-
mentally one.
2. To the Sudanese and Bantu sub-sections in Africa
correspond, mutatis mutandis, the Papuan and Melanesian
sub-sections in Oceania, the former being distinguished by
great linguistic diversity, the latter by considerable linguistic
uniformity, and both by a rather wide range of physical
variety within certain well-marked limits.
3. In Africa the physical varieties are due mainly to
Semitic and Hamitic grafts on the Negro stock ; in Oceania
mainly to Mongoloid (Malay) and Caucasian (Indonesian)
grafts on the Papuan stock.
4. The Negrillo element in Africa has its counterpart in
an analogous Negrito element in Oceania (Andamanese,
Semangs, Aetas, etc.).
5. In both regions the linguistic diversity apparently
presents similar features — a large number of languages
differing profoundly in their grammatical structure and
vocabularies, but all belonging to the same agglutinative
order of speech, and also more or less to the same phonetic
system.
6. In both regions the linguistic uniformity is generally
confined to one or two geographical areas, Bantuland in
Africa and Melanesia in Oceania.
7. In Bantuland the linguistic system shows but faint
if any resemblances to any other known tongues, whereas
the Melanesian group is but one branch, though the most
archaic, of the vast Austronesian Family, diffused over the
Indian and Pacific Oceans. The Papuan languages are
entirely distinct from the Melanesian. They are in some
y] The Oceanic Negroes: Papuasians 135
respects similar to the Australian, but their exact positions
are not yet proved \
8. Owing to their linguistic, geographical, and to some
extent their physical and social differences, it is desirable to
treat the Papuans and Melanesians as two dis-
tinct though closely related sub-groups, and to Papua™*
restrict the use of the terms Papuan and Melanesian
Melanesian accordingly, while both may be definS^"^^'*"
conveniently comprised under, the general or
collective term Papuasian".
9. Here, therefore, by Papuans will be understood the
true aborigines of New Guinea with its eastern Louisiade
dependency^ and in the west many of the Malaysian islands
as far as Flores inclusive, where the black element and non-
Malay speech predominate ; by Melanesians, the natives of
Melanesia as commonly understood, that is, the Admiralty
Isles, New Britain, New Ireland and Duke of York; the
Solomon Islands ; Santa Cruz ; the New Hebrides, New
Caledonia, Loyalty, and Fiji, where the black element and
Austronesian speech prevail almost exclusively. Papuasia
will thus comprise the insular world from Flores to New
Caledonia.
Such appear to be the present limits of the Papuasian
domain, which formerly may have included Micronesia also
(the Marianne, Pelew, and Caroline groups), The Papuasian
and some writers suggest that it possibly ex- Domain, Past
tended over the whole of Polynesia as far as ^""^ Present.
Easter Island.
The variation in the inhabitants of New Guinea has often
been recognised and is well described by C. G. Seligman
1 Cf. S. H. Ray, Reports Camb. Anthrop. Exp. Torres Sis. Vol. ill. 1907,
pp. 287, 528. For Melanesian linguistic affinities see also W. Schmidt, Die Mon-
Khmer Vblker, igo6.
2 C. G. Seligman limits the use of the term Papuasian to the inhabitants
of New Guinea and its islands, and following a suggestion of A. C. Haddon's
(fieograph. Journ. xvi. 1900, pp. 265, 414), recognises therein three great divisions,
the Papuans, the Western Papuo- Melanesians, and the Eastern Papuo-Mela-
nesians, or Massim. Cf. C. G. Seligman, "A Classification of the Natives of
British New Guinea," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. Vol. xxxix. igo2, and The
Melanesians of British New Guinea, 1910.
3 That is, the indigenous Papuans, who appear to form the great bulk of the
New Guinea populations, in contradistinction to the immigrant Melanesians
(Motu and others), who are numerous especially along the south-east coast of the
mainland and in the neighbouring Louisiade and D'Entrecasteaux Archipelagoes
{Eth. Ch. XL).
136 Man: Past and Present [ch.
who remarks^ that the contrast between the relatively tall,
p . dark-skinned, frizzly-haired inhabitants of Torres
Mdanesians, Straits, the Fly River and the neighbouring
Physical parts of New Guinea on the one hand, and the
aracters. smaller lighter coloured peoples to the east,
is so striking that the two peoples must be recognised as
racially distinct. He restricts the name Papuan to the con-
geries of frizzly-haired and often mop-headed peoples whose
skin colour is some shade of brownish black, and proposes
the term Papuo-Melanesian for the generally smaller, lighter
coloured, frizzly-haired races of the eastern peninsula and
the islands beyond. Besides these conspicuous differences
" The Papuan is generally taller and is more consistently
p dolichocephalic than the Papuo-Melanesian : he
is always darker, his usual colour being a dark
chocolate or sooty brown ; his head is high and his face, is,
as a rule, long with prominent brow-ridges, above which his
rather flat forehead commonly slopes backwards. The Papuo-
Melanesian head is usually less high and the brow ridges less
prominent, while the forehead is commonly
iSMMesian. rounded and not retreating. The skin colour
runs through the whole gamut of shades of
cafi-au-lait, from a lightish yellow with only a tinge of
brown, to a tolerably dark bronze colour. The lightest
shades are everywhere uncommon, and in many localities
appear to be limited to the female sex,. The Papuan nose is
longer and stouter and is often so arched as to present the
outline known as 'Jewish.' The character of its bridge
varies, typically the nostrils are broad and the tip of the nose
is often hooked downwards. In the Papuo-Melanesian the
nose is generally smaller : both races have frizzly hair, but
while this is universal among Papuans, curly and even wavy
hair is common among both [Eastern and Western] divisions
of Papuo-Melanesians^"
The Melanesians are as variable as the natives of New
Guinea ; the hair may be curly, or even wavy, showiflg
Melanesian. evidence of racial mixture, and the skin is
chocolate or occasionally copper-coloured. The
stature of the men ranges from i -50 m. to 1 78 m. (4 ft. 1 1 in.
' The Melanesians of British New Guinea^ 1910, pp. 2, 27.
2 The curly or wavy hair appears more commonly among women than
among men.
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Papuasians 137
to 5 ft. 10 in.), with an average between r56 m. and r6 m.
(5 ft. i^ in. to 5 ft. 3 in.). The skull is usually dolicho-
cephalic, but ranges from 67 to 85 and in certain parts
brachycephaly is predominant ; the nose shows great diversity.
This type ranges with local variations from the Admiralty
Islands and parts of New Guinea through the Bismarck
Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and the New Hebrides and
other island groups to Fiji and New Caledonia.
The " Kanakas," as the natives of New Caledonia and
the Loyalty group are wrongly' called by their present rulers,
have been described by various French investi-
gators. Among the best accounts of them is SeSns.
that of M. Augustin Bernard', based on the
observations of de Rochas, Bourgard, Vieillard, Bertillon,
Meinicke, and others. Apart from several sporadic Poly-
nesian groups in the Loyalties', all are typical Melanesians,
long-headed with very broad face at least in the
middle, narrow boat-shaped skull (ceph. index characters.
70)*, large, massive lower jaw, often with two
supplementary molars', colour a dark chocolate, often with a
highly characteristic purple tinge ; but de Rochas' statement
that for a few days after birth infants are of a light reddish
yellow hue lacks confirmation ; hair less woolly but much
longer than the Negro ; beard also longish and frizzly, the
peppercorn tufts with simulated bald spaces being an effect
' Kanaka is a Polynesian word meaning "man," and should therefore be
restricted to the brown Indonesian group, but it is indiscriminately applied by
French writers to all South Sea IslanderSj whether black or brown. This misuse
of the term has found its way into some English books of travel even in the
corrupt French form " canaque."
^ L' Archipel de la Nouvelle CaUdonie, Paris, 1895.
^ Lifu, Mare, Uvea, and Isle of Pines. ' These Polynesians appear to have all
come originally from Tonga, first to Uvea Island (Wallis), and thence in the
eighteenth century to Uvea in the Loyalties, cradle of all the New Caledonian
Polynesian settlements. Cf. C. M. Woodford, " On some Little-known Polynesian
Settlements in the Neighbourhood of the Solomon Islands," Geog. Journ. XLVIII.
1916.
* This low index is characteristic of most Papuasians, and reaches the extreme
of dolichocephaly in the extinct Kai-Colos of Fiji {65°), and amongst some coast
Papuans of New Guinea measured by Miklukho-Maclay. But this observer found
the characters so variable in New Guinea that he was unable to use it as a racial
test. In the New Hebrides, Louisiades, and Bismarck group also he found maiiy
of the natives to be broad-headed, with indices as high as 80 and 85 ; and even in
the Solomon Islands Guppy records cephalic indices ranging from 69 to 86, but
dolichocephaly predominates {The Sqlomon Islands, 1887, pp. 112, 1 14). Thus
this feature is no more constant amongst the Oceanic than it is amongst the
African Negroes. (See also M.-Maclay's paper in Proc. Linn. Soc. New South
Wales, 1882, p. 171 sq.) * Eth. Ch. VIII.
138 Man : Past and Present [ch.
due to the assiduous use of the comb ; very prominent super-
ciliary arches and thick eyebrows, whence their somewhat
furtive look ; mean height 5 ft. 4 in. ; speech Melanesian with
three marked varieties, that of the south-eastern districts
being considered the most rudimentary member of the whole
Melanesian group'.
From the state of their industries, in some respects the
rudest, in others amongst the most advanced in Melanesia, it
may be inferred that after their arrival the New Caledonians,
like the Tasmanians, the Andamanese, and some other insular
groups, remained for long ages almost completely secluded
from the rest of the world. Owing to the
QuMtion.^ poverty of the soil the struggle for food must
always have been severe. Hence the most
jealously guarded privileges of the chiefs were associated with
questions of diet, while the paradise of the dead was a region
where they had abundance of food and could gorge on yams.
The ethnological history of the whole of the Melanesian
region is obscure, but as the result of recent investigations
General Survey certain broad features may be recognised. The
of Melanesian earliest inhabitants were probably a black.
Ethnology. woolly-haired race, now represented by the
pygmies of New Guinea, remnants of a formerly widely ex-
tended Negrito population also surviving in the Andaman
Islands, the Malay Peninsula (Semang) and the Philippines
( Aeta). A taller variety advanced into Tasmania and formed
the Tasmanian group, now extinct, others spread over New
Guinea and the western Pacific as " Papuans," and formed
the basis of the Melanesian populations^ The Proto-Poly-
nesians in their migrations from the East Indian Archipelago
to Polynesia passed through this region and imposed their
speech on the population and otherwise modified it. In
later times other migrations have come from the west, and
parts of Melanesia have also been directly influenced by
movements from Polynesia. The result of these supposed
influences has been to form the Melanesian peoples as they
exist to-day I G. Friederici^ has accumulated a vast amount
^ Bernard, p. 262.
^ A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of Peoples, 191 1, p. 33.
^ A. C. Haddon, The Races of Man, 1909, p. 21.
* Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer amtlichen Forschuttgsreise nach dent
Bismarck- Archipel im fahre igo8; Untersuchungen uber eine Melanesische
Wanderstrasse, 1913 ; and Mitt, aiis den deutschen Schutsgebieten, Erganzungs-
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Papuasians 139
of evidence based chiefly on linguistics and material culture,
to support the theory of Melanesian cultural streams from
the west. He regards the Melanesians as having come from
that part of Indonesia which extends from the Southern
Islands of the Philippine group, through the Minahasa
peninsula of Celebes, to the Moluccas in the neighbourhood
of Buru and Ceram. From the Moluccan region they passed
north of New Guinea to the region about Vitiaz and Dampier
Straits, which Friederici regards as the gateway of Melanesia.
Here they colonised the northern shores of New Britain,
and part of the swarm settled along the eastern and south-
eastern shores of New Guinea. Another stream passed to
the Northern Louisiades, Southern Solomons, and Northern
New Hebrides. The Philippine or sub- Philippine stream
took a more northerly route, going by the Admiralty group to
New Hanover, East New Ireland and the Solomons.
The first serious attempt to disentangle the complex cha-
racter of Melanesian ethnography was made by F. Graebner
in 1905', followed by G. Friederici, the references
to whose work are given above. More recently proWems
W. H. R. Rivers^ has attacked the cultural
problem by means of the genealogical method and the results
of his investigations are here briefly summarised. He has
discovered several remarkable forms of marriage in Melanesia
and has deduced others which have existed previously. He
argues that the anomalous forms of marriage imply a former
dual organisation {i.e. a division of the community into two
exogamous groups) with matrilineal descent, and he is driven
to assume that in early times there was a state of society in
which the elders had acquired so predominant a position that
they were able to monopolise all the young women. Some
of the relationship systems are of great antiquity, and it is
evident that changes have taken place due to cultural in-
fluences coming in from without.
The distribution of kava-drinking and betel-chewing is of
great interest. ' The former occurs all over Poly- Kava-drinking
nesia (except Easter Island and New Zealand) and
and throughout southern Melanesia, including Betel-chewing.
heft, Nr 5, 1912, Nr 7, 1913. See also S. H. Ray, Nature, CLXXn. 1913, and
Man, XI V. 34, 1 91 4.
1 Zeitschr. f. Ethnol. XXXVII. p. 26, 1905. His later writings should also be
consulted, Anthropos, iv. 1909, pp. 726, 998; Ethnologic, 1914, p. 13.
* The History of Melanesian Society, 1914.
140 Man: Past and Present [cH.
certain Santa Cruz Islands, where it is limited to religious
ceremonial. Betel-chewing begins at these islands and extends
northwards through New Guinea and Indonesia to India.
Kava and betel were introduced into Melanesia by different
cultural migrations.
The introduction of beteUchewing was relatively late and
restricted and may have taken place from Indonesia after the
invasion by the Hindus. With it were associated strongly
established patrilineal institutions, marriage with a wife of
a father's brother, the special sanctity of the skull and the
plank-built canoe. The use of pile dwellings is a more
constant element of the betel-culture than of the kava-
culture. The religious ritual centres round the skulls of
ancestors and relatives, and the cult of the skull has taken
a direction which gives the heads of enemies an importance
equal to that of relatives, hence head-hunting has become the
chief object of warfare. The skull of a relative is the symbol —
if not the actual abiding place — of the dead, to be honoured
and propitiated, while the skulls of enemies act as the -means
whereby this honour and propitiation are effected.
The influence of the kava-using peoples was more extensive
in time and space than that of the betel-chewing people.
Rivers supposes that they had neither clan organisation nor
exogamy. Some of them preserved the body after death and
respect was paid to the head or skull. It is possible that the
custom of payment for a wife came into existence in Melanesia
as the result of the need of the immigrant men for women of
the indigenous people owing to their bringing few women with
them, and the great development of shell money may be due
in part to those payments. Contact with the earlier popu-
lations also resulted in the development of secret societies.
The immigrants introduced the cult of the dead and the
institutions of taboo, totemism and chieftainship. They
brought with them the form of outrigger canoe and the
knowledge of plank-building for canoes (which however was
only partially adopted), the rectangular house, and may have
known the art of making pile dwellings. They introduced
various forms of currency made of shells, teeth, feathers, mats,
etc., the drill, the slit drum, or gong, the conch trumpet, the
fowl, pig,, dog, and megalithic monuments.
There may have been two immigrations of peoples who
made monuments of stone : 1. Those who erected the more
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Papuasians 141
dolmen-like structures, probably had aquatic totems, and
interred their dead in the extended position.
2. A later movement of people whose stone Monuments
structures tended to take the form of pyramids,
who had bird totems, practised a cult of the sun and
cremated their dead.
When the kava-using people came into Melanesia they
found it alrekdy inhabited. The earliest fprm of social organi-
sation of which we have evidence was on the
dual basis, associated with matrilineal descent, ^60^°"*'"
the dominance of the old men (gerontocracy) and
certain peculiar forms of marriage. These people interred
their dead in the contracted or sitting position, which also was
employed in most parts of Polynesia. Evidently they feared
the ghosts and removed their dead as completely as possible
from the living. These people — whom we may speak of as the
" dual-people " — were communistic in property and probably
practised sexual communism ; the change towards the insti-
tution ■ of individual property and individual marriage were
assisted by, if not entirely due to, the ihfluence of the kava-
people. They practised circumcision. Magic was an indi-
genous institution. Characteristic is the cult of vui, unnamed
local spirits with definite haunts or abiding places whose
rites are performed in definite localities. In the Northern
New Hebrides the offerings connected with vui are not
made to the vui themselves but to the man who owns the
place connected with the vui. It would seem as if ownership
of a locality carried with it ownership of the z^z^z' connected
with the locality. Thus vui are local spirits belonging to the
indigenous owners of the soil, and there seems no reason to
believe that they were ever ghosts of dead men. As totemism
occurs among the dual-people of the Bismarck Archipelago
(who live in parts of New Britain and New Ireland and
Duke of York Island) it is possible that the kava-people were
not the sole introducers of totemism into Melanesia. The
dual-people were probably acquainted with the bow, which
they may have called busur, and the dug-out canoe which
was used either lashed together in pairs or singly with an
outrigger.
The origin of a dual organisation is generally believed to
be due to fission, but it is more reasonable to regard it as due
to fusion, as hostility is so frequently manifest between the
142 Man: Past and Present [ch.
two groups despite the fact that spouses are always obtained
from the other moiety, In New Ireland (and elsewhere)
each moiety is associated with a hero ; one acts wisely but
unscrupulously, the other is^a fool who is always falling an
easy victim to the first. Each moiety has a totem bird : one
is a fisher, clever and capable, while the second obtains its
food by stealing froih the other and does not go to sea. One
represents the immigrants of superior culture who came by sea,
the other the first people, aborigines, of lowly culture who
were quite unable to cope with the wiles and stratagems of
the people who had settled among them. In the Gazelle
Peninsula of New Britain, the dual groups are associated
with light and dark coconuts ; affiliated with the former are
male objects and the clever bird, which is universally called
taragau, or a variant of that term. The bird of the other
moiety is named malaba or manigulai, and is associated with
female objects. The dark coconuts, the dark colour and
flattened noses of the women who were produced by their
transformation, and the projecting eyebrows oixhe.malaba bird
and its human adherents seem to be records in the mythology
of the Bismarck Archipelago of the negroid (or, Rivers
suggests, an Australoid) character of the aboriginal population.
The light coconut which was changed into a light-coloured
woman seems to have preserved a tradition of the light colour
of the immigrants.
The autochthones of Melanesia were a dark-skinned and
ulotrichous people, who had neither a fear of the ghosts of
their dead nor a manes cult, but had a cult of
CutewTstxIta. ^^^ spirits. The Baining of the Gazelle Penin-
sula of New Britain may be representatives of
a stage of Melanesian history earlier than the dual system ; if
so, they probably represent in a modified form, the aboriginal
element. They are said to be completely devoid of any fear
of the dead.
The immigrants whose arrival caused the institution of the
dual system were a relatively fair people of superior culture
who interred their dead in a sitting position and feared their
ghosts. They first introduced the Austronesian language.
All subsequent migrations Were of Austronesian-speaking
peoples from Indonesia. First came the kava-peoples in
various swarms, and more recently the betel-people.
Possibly New Caledonia shows the effects of relative
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Papuasians 143
isolation more than other parts of Melanesia, but, except for
Polynesian influence (most directly recognisable in Fiji and
southern Melanesia), Melanesia may be regarded
as possessing a general culture with certain cuSf^"
characteristic features which may be thus sum-
marised'. The Melanesians are a noisy, excitable, demon-
strative, affectionate, cheery, passionate people. They could
not be hunters everywhere, as in most of the islands there is
no game, nor could they be pastors anywhere, as there are no
cattle ; the only resources are fishing and agriculture. In the
larger islands there is usually a sharp distinction between the
coast people, who are mainly fishers, and the inlanders who
are agriculturalists ; the latter are always by far the more
primitive, and in many cases are subservient to the former.
Both sexes work in the plantations. In parts of New Guinea
and the Western Solomons the sago palm is of great im-
portance ; coconut palms grow on the shores of most islands,
and bananas, yams, bread-fruit, taro and sweet potatoes supply
abundant food. As for dress, the men occasionally wear
none, but usually have belts or bands, of bark-cloth, plaits, or
strings, and the women almost everywhere , have
petticoats of finely shredded leaves. The skin
is decorated with scars in various patterns, and tattooing is
occasionally seen, the former being naturally characteristic of
the darker skinned people, and the latter of the lighter.
Every portion of the body is decorated in innumerable ways
with shells, teeth, feathers, leaves, flowers, and other objects,
and plaited bands encircle the neck, body, and limbs. Shell
necklaces, which constitute a kind of currency, and artificially
deformed boars' tusks are especially characteristic, though each
group usually has its peculiar ornaments, distinguishing it from
any other group. There is a great variety of houses. The
typical Melanesian house has a gable roof, the
ridge pole is supported by two main posts, side
walls are very low, and the ends are filled in with bamboo
screens. Pile dwellings are found in the Bismarck Archipelago,
the Solomon Islands and New Guinea, and some New Guinea
villages extend out into the sea.
The weapons typical of Melanesia are the club and the
spear (though the latter is not found in the Banks Islands),
' A. C. Haddon, The Races of Man, 1909, pp. 24-8, and Handbook to the
Ethnographical Collections British Museum, 1910, pp. 11 9- 139.
144 Man: Past and Present [ch.
each group and often each island possessing its own dis-
tinctive pattern. Stone headed clubs are found
eapons. .^ New Guinea, New Britain and the New
Hebrides. The spears of the Solomon Islands are finely
decorated and have bone barbs ; those of New Caledonia
are pointed with a sting-ray spine ; those of the Admiralty
Islands have obsidian heads ; and those of New Britain have
a human armbone at the butt end. The bow, the chief
weapon of the Papuans, occurs over the greater part of
Melanesia, though it is absent in S.E. New Guinea, and is
only used for hunting in the Admiralty Islands.
The hollowed out tree trunk with or without a plank
gunwale is general, usually with a single outrigger, though
^ ^ plank-built canoes occur in the Solomons,
characieristically ornamented with shell inlay.
Pottery is an important industry in parts of New Guinea and
in Fiji ; it occurs also in New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo
(New Hebrides) and the Admiralty Islands. Bark-cloth is
made in most islands, but a loom for weaving leaf strips is
now found only in Santa Cruz.
A division of the community into two exogamous groups
is very widely spread, no intermarriage being permitted within
S ■ 1 L"f ^^ g^^P- Mother-right is prevalent, descent
and inheritance being counted on the mother's
side, while a man's property descends to his sister's children.
At the same time the mother is in no sense the head of the family ;
the house is the father's, the garden may be his, the rule and
government are his, though the maternal uncle sometimes has
more authority than the father. The transition to father-right
has definitely occurred in various places, and is taking place
elsewhere ; thus, in some of the New Hebrides, the father has
to buy off the rights of his wife's relations or his sister's
children.
Chiefs exist everywhere, being endowed with religious
sanctity in Fiji, where they are regarded as the direct
descendants of the tribal ancestors. More often, a chief
holds his position solely owing to the fact that he has inherited
the cult of some powerful spirit, and his influence is not very
extensive. Probably everywhere public affairs are regulated
by discussion among the old or important men, and the more
primitive the society, the more power they possess. But the
most powerful institutions of all are the secret societies,
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Papuasians 145
occurring with certain exceptions throughout Melanesia.
These are accessible to men only, and the can- ^ ,~ . ,.
J.J ^ .... , , '. Secret Societies.
aidates on initiation have to submit to treatment
which is often rough in the extreme. The members of the
societies are believed to be in close association with ghosts and
spirits, and exhibit themselves in masks and elaborate dresses
in which disguise they are believed by the uninitiated to be
supernatural beings. These societies do not practise* any
secret cult, in fact all that the initiate appears to learn is that
the "ghosts" are merely his fellows in disguise, and that the
mysterious noises which herald their approach are produced
by the bull-roarer and other artificial means. These organisa-
tions are most powerful agents for the maintenance of social
order and inflict punishment for breaches of- customary law,
but they are often terrorising and blackmailing institutions.
Women are rigorously excluded.
Other social factors of importance are the clubs, especially
in the New Hebrides and Banks Islands. These are a means
of attaining social rank. They are divided into
different grades, the members of which eat
together at their particular fire-place in the club-house. Each
rank has its insignia, sometimes human effigies, usually, but
wrongly, called "idols." Promotion from one grade to another
is chiefly a matter of payment, and few reach the highest.
Those who do so become personages of very great influence,
since no candidate can obtain promotion without their
permission.
Totemism occurs in parts of New Guinea and elsewhere
and has marked socialising effects, as totemic solidarity takes
precedence of all other considerations, but it is
becoming obsolete. The most important religious
factor throughout Melanesia is the belief in a supernatural
power or influence, generally called mana. This is what
works to effect everything which is beyond the ordinary power
of man or outside the common processes of nature ; but this
power, though in itself impersonal, is always connected with
some person who directs it ; all spirits have it, ghosts generally,
and some men. A more or less developed ancestor cult is
also universally distributed. Human beings may become
beneficent or malevolent ghosts, but not every ghost becomes
an object of regard. The ghost who is worshipped ' is the
spirit of a man who in his lifetime had mana. Good and-
K. 10
146 Man: Past and Present [ch.
evil spirits independent of ancestors are also abundant every-
where. There is no established priesthood, except in Fiji,
but as a rule, any man who knows the particular ritual suitable
to a definite spirit, acts as intermediary, and a man in com-
munication with a powerful spirit becomes a person. of great
importance. Life after death is universally believed in, and
the soul is commonly pictured as undertaking a journey, beset
with various perils, to the abode of departed spirits, which is
usually represented as lying towards the west. As a rule
only the souls of brave men, or initiates, or men who have
died in fight, win through to the most desirable abode.
Magical practices occur everywhere for the gaining of benefits,.
plenteous crops, good fishing, fine weather, rain, children or
success in love. Harmful magic for producing sickness or
death is equally universal-
Returning to the Papuan lands proper, in the insular
groups west of New Guinea we enter one of the most
entangled ethnical regions in the world. Here
Papu^ia. ^'"^' ^'^ doubt, a few islands such as the Aru
group, mainly inhabited by full-blood Papuans,
men who furnished Wallace with the models on which he
built up his true Papuan type, which has since been vainly
assailed by so many later observers. But in others— Ceram,
Buru, Timor, and so on to Flores — diverse ethnical and
linguistic elements are intermingled in almost hopeless con-
fusion. Discarding the term " Alfuro " as of no ethnical value",
we find the whole area west to about 120° E.
Elem^ts longitude' occupied in varying proportions by
pure and mixed representatives of three distinct
stocks: Negro (Papuans), Mongoloid (Malayans), and Cau-
casic (Indonesians). From the data supplied by Crawfurd,
1 Besides the earlier works of H. H. Roniilly, Tke Western Pacific and New
Quinea, 1886, From My Verandah in New Guinea, 1889; J. Chalmers, Work
and Adventure in New Guinea, 1885; O. Finsch, Samoafahrten : Reisen in
Kaiser Wilhelms-Land und Englisch Neu-Guinea, 1888 ; C. M. Woodford, A
Naturalist Among tke Head-hunters, 1890 ; J. P. Thompson, British New Guinea,
1892 ; and R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians, 1 891, the following more recent
works may be consulted : — A. C. H addon, Head-l}unters, Black, White, and
Brown, 1901, and Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to
Torres Straits, 1901- ; R. Parkinson, Dreissig Jahre in der Siidsee, 1907 ;
G. A. J. van der Sande, Nova Guinea, 1907 ; B. Thompson, The Fijians, 1908 ;
G. Brown, Melanesians and Polynesians, 1910 ; F. Speiser, Siidsee UrwOld
Kannibalen, 1913.
2 Eth. Ch. XII.
2 But excluding Celebes, where no trace of Papuan elements has been dis-
covered.
y] The Oceanic Negroes : Papuasians 147
Wallace, Forbes, Ten Kate and other trustworthy observers,
I have constructed the subjoined table, in which the east
Malaysian islands are disposed according to the constituent
elements of their inhabitants^:
Aru Group — True Papuans dominant; Indonesians
(Korongoei) in the interior.
Kei Group — Malayans ; Indonesians ; Papuan strain
everywhere.
Timor; Wetta; Timor Laut — Mixed Papuans, Malayans
and Indonesians ; no pure type anywhere.
Serwatti Group — Malayans with slight trace of black
blood (Papuan or Negrito),
Roti and Sumba — Malayans.
Savu — Indonesians.
Flares; Solor; Adonera; Lomblen; Pantar; Allor —
Papuans pure or mixed dominant ; Malayans in the coast
towns.
Bum — Malayans on coast ; reputed Papuans, but more
probably Indonesians in interior.
Ceram — Malayans on coast ; mixed Malayo- Papuans
inland.
Aniboina; Banda — Malayans; Dutch, Malay half-breeds
(" Perkeniers")..;
Goram — Malayans with slight Papuan strain.
■ Matabello; Tior;NuSoTelo;Ti(>nfoloka—V?i^\xa.nsvr\th,
Malayan admixture.
Misol — Malayq- Papuans on coast ; Papuans inland.
Tidor; Ternate; Sulla; Ma^ian~~M.a.la.Ya.ns.
Baijan~~Ma\a.Ya.T\s ; Indonesians^ ,
Gilolo — Mixed Papuans; Indonesians in the north.
Waigiu; Salwatii; Batanta — Malayans on the coast;
Papuans inland.
From this apparently chaotic picture, which in some places,
such as Timor, presents every gradation from the full-blood
Papuan to the typical Malay, Crawfurd, concluded that the
eastern section of Malaysia constituted a region ^j^^ .^^^^
of transition between the yellowish-brown lank- Tran5tion°by
haired and the dark-brown or black mop-headed Displacements
stocks. In a sense this is true, but not in the ^"^ Crossings,
sense intended by Crawfurd, who by " transition " meant the
1 For details see F. H. H. Guillemard, Australasia, Vol. ii. and Reclus,
Vol. XIV.
148 Man: Past and Present [ch.
actual passage by some process of development from type
to type independently of interminglings. But such extreme
transitions have nowhere taken place spontaneously, so to say,
and in any case could never have been brought about in a
small zoological area presenting everywhere the same climatic
conditions. Biological types may be, and have been, modified
in different environments, arctic, temperate, or tropical zones,
but not in the same zone, and if two such marked types as
the Mongol and the Negro are now found juxtaposed in
the Malaysian tropical zone, the fact must be explained by
migrations and displacements, while the intermediate forms
are to be attributed to secular intermingling of the extremes.
Why should a man, passing from one side to another of an
island 10 or 20 miles long, be transformed from a sleek-haired
brown to a frizzly-haired black, or from a mercurial laughter-
loving Papuan to a Malayan "slow in movement and thoroughly
phlegmatic in disposition, rarely seen to laugh or become
animated in conversation, with expression generally of vague
wonder or weary sadness "' ? '
Wallace's classical description of these western Papuans,
who are here in the very cradleland of the race, can never
Papuan and ^°^^ ^^^ charm, and its accuracy has been fully
Malay confirmed by all later observers. " The typical
Contrasts. Papuan race," he writes, "is in many respects
the very- opposite of the Malay. The colour of the body is
a deep sooty-brown or black, sometimes approaching, but
never quite equalling, the jet-black of some negro races.
The hair is very peculiar, being harsh, dry, and frizzly, growing
in little tufts or curls, which in youth are very short and
compact, but afterwards grow out to a considerable length,
forming the compact, frizzled mop which is the Papuan's pride
and glory.... The moral characteristics of the Papuan appear
to me to separate him as distincdy from the Malay as do his
form and features. He is impulsive and demonstrative in
speech and action. His emotions and passions express
themselves in shouts and laughter, in yells and frantic
leapings....The Papuan has a greater feeling for art than
the Malay. He decorates his canoe, his house, and almost
every domestic utensil with elaborate carving, a habit which
is rarely found among tribes of the Malay race. In the
1 S. J. Hicksqn, A Naturalist in North Celebes, 1889, P- 203.
y] The Oceanic Negroes: Papuasimis 149
afifections and moral sentiments, on the other han4, the
Papuans seem very, deficient. In the treatment of their
children they are often violent and cruel, whereas the Malays
are almost invariably kind and gentle."
The ethnological parting-line between the Malayan and
Papuasian races,, as first laid down by Wallace, nearly co-
incides with his division between the Indo- Ethnical and
Malayan and Austro-Malayan floras and faunas, Biological
the chief differences being the positions of Sum- divides,
bawa and Celebes. Both of these islands are excluded from
the Papuasian realm, but included in the Austro-Malayan
zoological and botanical regions.
The Oceanic Negritoes.
Recent discoveries and investigations of the pygniy popu-
lations on the eastern border of the Indian Ocean tend to
show that the problem is by no means simple. .— j, -^
Already two main stocks are recognised, differ-
entiated by wavy and curly hair and dolichocephaly in the
Sakai, and so-called woolly hair in the Andamanese Islanders,
Semang (Malay Peninsula) and Aeta (Philippines), combined
with mesaticephaly or low brachycephaly. In East Sumatra
and Celebes a short, curly-haired dark-skinned people occur,
racially akin to the Sakai, and Moszkowski suggests that the
same element occupied Geelvink Bay (Netherlands New
Guinea). These with the Vedda of Ceylon, and some jungle
tribes of the Deccan, represent remnants of a once widely
distributed pre- Dra vidian race, which is also supposed to form
the chief elemfent in the Australians \
The " Mincopies," as the Andamanese used to be* called,
nobody seems to know why, were visited in 1893 by Louis
Lapicque, -who examined a large kitchen-midden
near Port Blair, but some distance from the manese. ^'
present coast, hence of great age". N evertheless
he failed to find any worked stone implements, although flint
occurs in the island. Indeed, chipped or flaked flints, now
replaced by broken glass, were formerly used for shaving and
scarification. But, as the present natives use only fishbones,
1 A. C. Haddon, "The Pygmy Question," Appendix B to A. F. R. Wollaston's
Pygmies and Papuans, 1912, p. 304.
2 " A la Recherche des Negritos," etc., in Tour du Monde, New Series, Livr.
35-8. The midden was 150 ft. round, and over 12 ft. high.
156 Man: Past and Present [ch.
shells, and wood, Lapicque somewhat hastily concluded that
■ thfese islanders, like some other primitive groups,
ge. ^^^^ never passed through a Stone Age at all.
The shell-mounds have, certainly yielded an arrow-head and
polished adze " indistinguishable from any of the European or
Indian celts of the so-called Neolithic period\" But there is no
reason to think that the archipelago was ever occupied by a
people different from its present inhabitants. Hence we may
suppose that their ancestors arrived in their Stone Age, but
afterwards ceased to make stone implements, as less handy
for their purposes and more difficult to make than the shell
or bone-tipped weapons and the nets with which they capture
game and fish more readily "than the most skilful fisherman
with hook and line"." Similarly they would seem to have
long lost the art of making fire, having once obtained it from
a still active volcano in the neighbouring Barren Island'.
The inhabitants of the Andaman Islands range in colour
from bronze to sooty black. Their hair is extremely frizzly,
seeming to grow in spiral tufts and is, seldom
Ap^aLce. more than 5 inches long when untwisted. The
women usually shave their heads. Their height
is about 1*48 m. (4 ft. 10^ in.), with well-proportioned body
and small hands. The cephalic index averages 82. The
face is broad at the cheek-bones, the eyes are prominent, the
nose is much sunken at the root but straight and small ; the
lips are full but not thick, the chin is small but not retreating,
nor do the jaws project. The natives are characterised by
honesty, frankness, politeness, modesty, conjugal fidelity,
respect for elders and real affection between relatives and
friends. The women are on an equal footing with the men
and do their full share of work. The food is mainly fish
(obtained by netting, spearing or shooting with bow and
arrow), wild yams, turtle, pig and honey. They "do not till
the soil or keep domestic animals. Instead of clothing both
sexes wear belts, necklaces, leg-bands, arm-bands etc. made
of bones, wood and shell, the women wearing in addition
^ E. H. yia.n,/ourn. Anthr. Inst. Vol. XI. 1881, p. 271, and xii. 1883, p. 71.
^ /^. p. 272.
' Close to Barren is the extinct crater of Narcondam, i.e. Narak-andatn
(^anj^=Hell),- from which the Andaman ^roup may have taken its name
(Sir H. Yule, Marco Polo). Man notes, however, that the Andamanese were not
aware of the existence of Barren Island until taken past in the settlement steamer
(p. 368).
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Negritoes 151
a rudimentary leaf apron. When fully dressed the men wear
bunches of shredded Pandanus leaf at wrists and knees, and
a circlet of the same leaf folded on the head. They make
canoes, some of which have an outrigger, but never venture
far from the shore. They usually live in small encampments
round an oval dancing ground, their simple huts „ . , , .,
c ^ J ^ 1 • 1 • ^ 1 Social Life,
are open m front and at the sides, or m a large
communal hut in which each family has its own particular
space, the bachelors and spinsters having theirs. A family
consists of a man and his wife and such of their children, own
and adopted, as have not passed the period of the ceremonies
of adolescence. Between that period and marriage the boys
and girls reside in the bachelors' and spinsters' quarters
respectively. A man is not regarded as an independent
member of the community till he is married and has a child.
There is no organised polity. Generally one man excels the
rest in hunting, warfare, wisdom and kindliness, and he is
deferred to, and becomes, in a sense, chief A regular feature
of Andamanese social life is the meeting at intervals between '
two or more communities. A visit of a few days is paid and
presents are exchanged between hosts and guests, the time
being spent in hunting, feasting- and dancing.
No forms of worship have been noticed, but there is a belief
in various kinds of spirits, the most important of whom is Biliku,
usually regarded as female, who is identified with Relieion
the north-east monsoon and is paired with Tarai
the south-west monsoon. Biliku and Tarai are the producers of
rain, storms, thunder and lightning. Fire was stolen from Biliku.
There is always great fluidity in native beliefs, so some tribes
regard Puluga (Biliku) as a male. Three things make Biliku
angry and cause her to send storms ; melting or burning of bees-
wax, interfering in any way with a certain number of plants, and
killing a cicada or making a noise during the time the cicadae
are singing. A. R. Brown' gives an interesting explanation
of this curious belief Biliku is supposed to have a human
form but nobody ever sees her. Her origin is unknown.
The idea of her being a creator is local and is probably
secondary, she does not concern herself with human actions
other than those noted above.
1 Folk-Lore, 1909, p. 257. See also the criticisms ofW. Schmidt, "Puluga,
the Supreme Being of the Andamanese," Man, 2, 1910, and A. Lang, "Puluga,'
Man, 30, 1910 ; A. R. Brown, The Andaman Islands (in the Press).
152 Man: Past and Present [ch.
E. H. Man has carefully studied and reduced to writing the
Andamanese language, of which there are at least nine distinct
g . varieties, corresponding to as many tribal groups.
It has no clear affinities to any other tongue^
the supposed resemblances to Dravidian and Australian being
extremely slight, if not visionary. Its phonetic system is
astonishingly rich (no less than 24 vowels and 17 consonants,
but ho sibilants), while the arithmetic stops at two. Nobody
ever attempts to count in any way beyond ten, which is reached
by a singular process. First the nose is tapped with the
finger-tips of either hand, beginning with the
Counting little fiiigcr, and saying Matiil (one), then ikpdr
(two) with the next, after which each successive
tap makes dnkd, "and this." When the thumb of the second
hand is reached, making ten, both hands are brought together
to' indicate 5 + 5, and the sum is clenched with the word hrdllru
= "all." But this feat is exceptional, and usually after two
you get only words answering to several, many, numerous,
* countless, which flight of imagination is reached at about 6 or 7.
, Yet with their infantile arithmetic these paradoxical
islanders have contrived to develop an astonishingly intri-
cate form of speech characterised by an absolutely bewildering
superfluity of pronominal and other elements. Thus the pos-
sessive pronouns have as many as sixteen possible variants
according to the class of noun (human objects, parts of the
body, degrees of kinship, etc.) with which they are in agree-
ment. For instance, my is cl{a, d6t, ddng, dig,
Sbra^^^*^*' fl^a<5, dar, ddka, ddto, dai, ddr, ad, ad-en, deb,
with man, head, wrist, mouth, father, son, step-
son, wife, etc. etc.; and so with thy, his, our, your, their.!
This grouping. of nouns in classes is analogous to the Bantu
system, and it is curious to note that the number of classes is
rabout the same. On the other hand there is a wealth of
postfixes attached as in normal agglutinating forrns of speech,
so that "in adding their affixes they follow the principles of
the ordinary agglutinative tongues ; in adding their prefixes
they follow the well-defined principles of the South African
tongues. Hitherto, as far as I know, the two principles in full
play have never been found together in any other language...
' 1 "The Andaman languages are oiie group ; they have no affinities by which
Ve inight infer their connection with any other known group" (R. C. Temple,
quoted by Man, Anifiropi /our. 18S2, p. 123),
v] The Oceanic Negroes : Negritoes 1 53
In Andamanese both are fully developed, so much so as to inter-
fere with each other's grammatical functions^" The result
often is certain sesquipedalia verba comparable in length to
those of the American polysynthetic languages. A savage
people, who can hardly count beyond two, possessed of about
the most intricate language spoken by man, is a psychological
puzzle which I cannot profess to fathom.
In the Malay Peninsula the indigenous element is certainly
the Negrito, who, known by many names — Semang, Udai,
Pangan, Hami, Menik or Mandi — forms a single _. „
1 V , . ..." The aemangs.
ethnical group presentmg some strikmg ana-
logies with the Andamanese. But; surrounded from time out
of mind by Malay peoples, some semi-civilised, some nearly
as wild as themselves, but all alike slowly crowding them out
of the land, these aborigines have developed defensive quali-
ties unneeded by the more favoured insular Negritoes, while
their natural development has been arrested at perhaps a
somewhat lower plane of culture. In fact, doomed to ex-
tinction'before their time came, they never have had a chance
in the race, as Hugh Clifford sings in The Song of the Last
Semangs :
The paths are rough, the trails are blind
The Jungle People tread ;
The yams are scarce and hard to find
With which our folk are fed.
We suffer yet a little space
Until we pass away.
The relics of an ancient race
That ne'er has had its day.
In physical features they in many respects resemble the
Andamanese. Their hair is short, universally
woolly and black, the skin colour dark chocolate. Appearance,
brown approximating to glossy blacky some-
times with a reddish tinge I There is very little evidence
for the stature but the 17 males measured by Annandale and
Robinson' averaged 1-52 m. (5 ft. o^ in.). The average'
cephalic index is about 78 to 79, extremes ranging from 74
to 84. The face is round, the forehead rounded, narrow and
projecting, or as it were "swollen." The nose is short and
1 R. C. Temple, quoted by Man, Anthrop. Jour. 1882, p. 123.
2 W. W. Skeat and C. D. Blagden, Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, 1906.
3 R. Martin, Die Inlandstmnme der Malayischen Halbinsel, 1905.
* N. Annandale and H. C. Robinson, "Fascicuh yi.^z.yexi%\^^' Anthropology, 1903.
154 Man: Past and Present [ch.
flattened, with remarkable breadth and distended nostrils.
The nasal index of five adult males was ior2\ The cheek-
bones are broad and the jaws often protrude slightly; the
lips are as a rule thick. Martin remarks that characteristic
both of Semang and Sakai" is the great thickening of the
integumental part, of the upper lip, the whole mouth region
projecting from the lower edge of the nose. This convexity
occurs in 79 per cent., and is well shown in his photo-
graphs'.
Hugh Clifford, who has" been intimately associated with
the "Orang-utan" (Wild-men) as the Malays often call them,
describes those of. the Plus River valley as "like Africap
Negroes seen through the reverse end of a field-glass. They
are sooty-black in colour; thejr hair is short and woolly, cling-
ing to the scalp in little crisp curls ; their noses are flat, their
lips protrude, and their features are those of the pure negroid
type. They are sturdily built and well set upon their legs,
but in stature little better than dwarfs. They live by hunting,
and have no permanent dwellings, camping in little family
groups wherever, for the moment, game is most plentiful."
Their shelters — huts they cannot be called — are exactly
like the frailest of the Andamanese, mere lean-to's of matted
palm-leaves crazily propped on rough uprights ;
clothes they have n6xt to none, and their
food is chiefly yams and other jungle roots, fish from' the
stream, and sun-dried monkey, venison and other game, this
term having an elastic meaning. Salt, being rarely obtain-
able, is a great luxury, as amongst almost all wild tribes.
They are a nomadic. people living by collecting and hunting;
the wilder ones will often not remain longer than three days
in one place. Very few have taken to agriculture. They
make use of bamboo rafts for drifting down stream but have
no canoes. All men are on an equal footing, but each tribe
has a head, who exercises authority. Division of labour is
fairly even between men and women. The men hunt, and
the women build the shelters and cook the food. They are
strictly monogamous and faithful,
1 W. W. Skeat and C. D. Blagden, loc. dt.
^ The Sakai have often been classed among Negritoes, but, although un-
doubtedly a mixed people, their affinities appear to be pre-Dravidian.
3 Cf. A, C. Haddon, "The Pygmy Question," Appendix B to A. F. R. WoUas-
ton's Pygmies and Papuans, 1 91 2, p. 306.
* In Court and Kampong, 1897, p. 172.
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Negritoes 155
All the faculties are sharpened mainly in the quest of
food and of means to elude the enemy now closing round
their farthest retreats in the upland forests. When , hard
pressed and escape seems impossible, they will climb trees
and stretch rattan ropes from branch to branch where these
are too wide apart to be reached at a bound, and along such
frail aerial bridges women and all will pass with their cooking-
pots and other effects, with their babies also at the breast,
and the little ones clinging to their mother's heels. For like
the Andamanese they love their women-folk and children, and
in this way rescue them from the Malay raiders and slavers.
But unless the British raj soon intervenes their fate is sealed.
They may slip from the Malays, but not from their own
traitorous kinsmen, who often lead the hunt, and squat all
night long on the tree tops, calling one to another and signal-
ling from these look-outs when the leaves rustle and the
rattans are heaved across, so that nothing can be done, and
another family group is swept away into bondage.
From their physical resemblance, undoubted common
descent, and geographical proximity, one might also expect
to find some affinity in the speech of the Anda-
man and Malay Negritoes. But H. Clifford, "^^^
who made a special study of the dialects on the mainland,
discovered no points of contact between them and any other
linguistic group \ This, however, need cause no surprise,
being in no discordance with recognised principles. As in
the Andamans, stone implements have been ^ .
found in the Peninsula, and specimens are now
in the Pitt- Rivers collection at Oxford^ But the present
aborigines do not make or use such tools, and there is good
reason for thinking that they were the work of their ancestors,
arriving, as in the Andamans, in the remote past. Hence the
two groups have been separated for many thousands of years,
and their speech has diverged too widely to be now traced
back to a common source.
1 Senoi grammar and glossary in Jour. Straits Branch R. Asiat. Soc. 1892,
No. 24.
2 See L. Wray's paper "On the Cave Dwellers of Perak," m Jour. Anthrop.
Inst. 1897, p. 36 sq. This observer thinks "the earliest cave dwellers were most
likely the Negritoes " (p. 47), and the great age of the deposits is shown by the
fact that "in some of the caves at least 12 feet of a mixture of shells, bones, and
earth has been accumulated and subsequently removed again in the floors of the
caves. In places two or three layers of solid stalagmite have been formed and
removed, some of these layers having been five feet in thickness" (p, 45).
1 56 Man : Past and Present [ch.
With the Negritoes of the Philippines we enter a region
of almost hopeless ethnical complications^ amid which, however,
the dark dwarfish Aeta peoples crop out almost
everywhere as the indigenous element. The
Aeta live in the mountainous districts of the larger islands,
and in some of the smaller islands of the Philippines, and
the name is conveniently extended to the various groups of
Philippine Negritoes, many of whom' show the results of
mixture with other peoples. Their hair is universally woolly,
usually of a dirty black colour, often sun-burnt on the top
.to a reddish brown. The skin is dark chocolate brown rather
than black, sometimes with a yellowish tinge. The average
stature of 48 men was i'46m. (4 ft. 9 in,), but showed con-
siderable range. The typical' nose is broad, flat, and bridgeless,
with prominent ^rched nostrils, the average nasal index for
males being 102, and for females 105 1 The lips are thick,
but not protruding, sometimes showing a pronounced con-
vexity betw:een the upper lip and the nose.
John Foreman' noted the curious fact that the Aeta were
recognised as the owners of the soil long after the arrival of
the Malayan intruders.
"For a long time they were the sole masters of Luzon
Island, where they exercised seignorial rights over the Taga-
logs and other immigrants, until these arrived in such numbers,
that the Negritoes were forced to the highlands.
"The taxes imposed upon th6 primitive Malay settlers by
the Negritoes were levied in kind, and, when payment was
refused, they swooped down in a posse, and carried off the
head of the -defaulter. Since the arrival of the Spaniards
terror of the white man has made them take definitely to the
mountains, where they appear to be very gradually decreasing*."
At first sight it rnay seem unaccountable that a race of
such extremely low intellect should be able to assert their
1 See on this point Prof. Blumentritt's paper on the Manguians of Mindoro in
Globus, LX. No. 14.
2 One Aeta womai; of Zambales had a nasal index of 1407. W. Allen Reed,
"Negritoes of Zambales," Department of the Interior: Ethnological ' Survey
Publications, II. 1904, p. 35. For details of physical features see the following :—
,D, Folkmar, Album of Phili^ppine Typesi 1904 ; Dean C. Worcester, "The Non-
Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon," The Philippine Journal of Science, I. 1906 ;
and A. C. Haddon, " The Pygmy Question," Appendix B to A. F. R. WoUaston's
■jJPygmies and Papuans, 1912.
, ,3 The Philippine Islands, etc., London and Hongkong, 1890.
* Op.£it. p. 210.
v] The Oceanic Negroes : Negritoes 1 57
supremacy in this way over the intruding Malayans, assumed
to be so much their superiors in physical and mental qualities.
But it has to be considered that the invasions took place in very
remote times, ages before the appearance on the scene of the
semi-civilised Muhammadan Malays of history. Whether of
Indonesian or of what is called "Malay" stock, the intruders
were rude Oceanic peoples, who in the prehistoric period,
prior to the spread of civilising Hindu or Moslem influences
in Malaysia, had scarcely advanced in general culture much
beyond the indigenous Papuan and Negrito populations of
that region. Even at present the Gaddanes,. Itaves, Igorrotes,
and others of Luzon are mere savages, at the
head-hunting stage, quite as wild as, and per- "unters
haps even more ferocious than any of the Aetas.
Indeed we are told that in some districts the Negrito and
Igorrote tribes keep a regular Debtor and Creditor account
of heads. Wherever the vendetta still prevails, all alike live
in a chronic state of tribal warfare ; periodical head-hunting
expeditions are organised by the young men, to present the
bride's father with as many grim trophies as possible in proof
of their prowess, the victims being usually taken by surprise
and stricken down with barbarous weapons, such as a long
spear with tridented tips, or darts and arrows carrying at the
point two rows of teeth made of flint or sea-shells. To avoid
these attacks some, like the Central Sudanese Negroes, live
in cabins on high posts or trees 60 to 70 feet from the
ground, and defend themselves by showering stones on the
marauders.
A physical peculiarity of the full-blood Negritoes, noticed
by J. Montano\ is the large, clumsy foot, turned slightly
inwards, a trait characteristic also of the African Negrilloes;
but in the Aeta the effect is exaggerated by the abnormal
divergence of the great toe, as amongst the Annamese.
The presence of a pygmy element in the population of
New Guinea had long been suspected, but the actual ex-
istence of a pygmy people was first discovered
by the British Ornithologists' Union Expedition, ^^^^^"^
1 9 10, at the source of the Mimika river in the
Nassau range ^
1 Voyage aux Philippines, etc., Paris, 1886.
2 A. F. R. WoUaston, Pygmies and Papuans, 1912 ; C, G. Rawling, The Land
of the New Guinea Pygmies, 191 3.
158 Man: Past and Present [ch.
The description of these people, the Tapiro, is as follows.
Their stature averages i-449m. (4 ft. 9 in.) ranging from
i-326m. (4 ft. 4iin.) to 1-529 (5 ft. o^in,). The skull is very
variable giving indices from 66'9 to Ss'i. The skin colour
is lighter than that of the neighbouring Papuans, some indi-
viduals being almost yellow. The nose is straight, and though
described as " very wide at the nostrils," the mean of the
indices is only 83, the extremes being 65*5 and 94. The eyes
are noticeably larger and rounder than those of Papuans, and
the upper lip of many of the men is long and curiously con-
vex. A Negrito element has also been recognised in the
Mafulu people investigated by R. W. Williamson in the
Mekeo District\ here mixed with Papuan and Papuo-Mela-
nesian. Their stature ranges from i"47m. (4 ft. 10 in.) to
1*63 in. (5 ft. 4 in.). The average cephalic index is 80 ranging
from 747 to 86"8. The skin colour is dark sooty brown and
the hair, though usually brown or black, is often very ij:iuch
lighter, " not what we in Europe should call dark. The
average nasal index is 84 with extremes of 71 '4 and 100.
Also partly of Negrito origin are the Pesegem of the upper
waters of the Lorentz rive^^
All these Negrito peoples, as has been pointed out, show
considerable diversity in physical , characters, none of the
existing groups, with the exception of the
Cutoe Andapianese, appearing to be homogeneous
as regards cephalic or nasal index, while the
stature, though always low, shows considerable range. They
have certain cultural features in common^ and these as a rule
differentiate them from their neighbours. They seldom
practise any deformation of the person, such as tattooing or
scarification, though the ' Tapiro and Mafulu wear a nose-
stick. They are invariably collectors and hunters, never,
unless modified by contact with : other peoples, undertaking
any cultivation of the soil. Their huts are simple, the pile
dwellings of the Tapiro being evidently copied from their
neighbours. All possess the bow and arrow, though only
the Semang and Aeta use poison. The An.damanese appear
to be orve of the very few peoples who possess fire but do
1 The Mafulu Mountain People of British New Guinea, 191 2.
^ Nova Guinea, vii. 1913, 191 5.
3 A. C. Haddon, « The Pygmy Question," Appendix B to A. F. R. WoUaston's
Pygmies and Papuans, 1912, pp. 314-9.
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Negritoes 159
not know how to make it afresh. There seems a certain
amount of evidence that the Negrito method of making fire
was that of splitting a dry stick, keeping the ends open by
a piece of wood or stone placed in the cleft, stuffing some
tinder into the narrow part of the slit and then drawing a
strip of rattan to and fro across the spot until a spark sets
fire to the tinder^ The social structure is everywhere very
simple. The social unit appears to be the family and the
power of the headman is very limited. Strict monogamy
seems to prevail even where, as among the Aeta, polygyny
is not prohibited. The dead are buried, but the bodies of
those whom it is wished to honour are placed on platforms
or on trees.
Related in certain physical characters to the pygmy
Negritoes, although not of pygmy proportions'', were the
aborigines of Tasmania, but their racial af-
finities are much disputed. Huxlev thought manian^'
they showed some resemblance to, the in-
habitants of New Caledonia and the Andaman Islands, but
Flower was disposed to bring them into closer connection
with the Papuans or Melanesians. The leading anthropo-
logists in France do not accept either of these views. Topinard
states that there is no close alliance between the New Cale-
donians and the Tasmanians, while Quatrefages and Hamy
remark that " from whatever point of view we look at it, the
Tasmanian race presents special characters, so that it is quite
impossible to discover any well-defined affinities with any
other existing race." Sollas, reviewing these conflicting
opinions, concludes that "this probably represents the pre-
vailing opinion of the present day'."
The Tasmanians were of medium height, the average for
the men being i-66im. (5 ft. S^in.) with a range from r548m.
to 1732 m. (5 ft. I in. to 5 ft. 8 in.); the average height for
women being 1-503 m. (4 ft. n in.) with a range from 1-295 m.
to I •630 m. (4 ft. 3 in. to 5 ft. 4iin.). The skin colour was
almost black with a brown tinge. The eyes were small and
1 It is not certain however that this method is known to the Semang, and it
occurs among peoples who are not Negrito, such as the Kayan of Sarawak, and in
other places where a Negrito element has not yet been recorded.
2 The term pygmy is usually applied to a people whose stature does not exceed
' ^™W? i. SoUas', Ancient Hunters, 1915, and ^. Turnbr, "The Aborigines of
Australia," Trans. R. Soc. Edin. 1908, XLVi. 2, and 1910, XLVii. 3.
i6o Man : Past and Present [ch.
deep set beneath prominent overhanging brow-ridges. The
nose was short and broad, with a deep notch at the root and
widely distended nostrils. The skull was dolichocephalic or
low mesaticephalic, with an average index of 75, of peculiar
outline when viewed from above. Other peculiarities were
the possession of the largest teeth, especially noticeable in
comparison with the small jaw, and the smallest known
cranial capacity (averaging 1199C.C. for both sexes, falling in
the women to 1093 c.c).
The aboriginal Tasmanians stood even at a lower level
of culture than the Australians. At the occupation the
scattered bands, with no hereditary chiefs or
Cuhure"^ social organisg^tion, numbered altogether 2000
souls at most, i speaking several distinct dialects,
whether of one or more stopk languages is uncertain. In the
absence of sibilants and some other features they resembled
the Australian, but were of ruder or less developed structure,
and so imperfect that according to Joseph Milligan, our best
authority on the subject, " they observed no settled order or
arrangement of words in the construction of their
Speech* "^^ sentences, but conveyed in a supplementary
fashion by tone, manner, and gesture those
modifications of meaning which we express by mood, tense,
number, etc.^" Abstract terms were rare, and for every variety
of gum-tree or wattle-tree there was a name, but no word for
" tree " in general, or for qualities, such as hard, soft, warm,
cold, long, short, round, etc. Anything hard was " like a
stone," round " like the moon," and so on, " usually suiting
the action to the word, and confirping by some sign the
meaning to be understood." ~\
They made fire by the stick and groove method, but their;
acquaintance with the fire-drill is uncertain^ The stone)
Fire-making. implements are the subject of much discussion.
Tools and A great number are so rude arid uncouth that.
Weapons. taken alone, we should have little reason to
suspect that they had been chipped by man : some, on the other
hand, show signs of skilful working. They were formerly^
classed as " eoliths " and compared to the plateau imple-f
ments of Kent and Sussex, but the comparison cannot be
1 Paper in Brough Smyth's work, ll. p. 413.
2 H. Ling Roth, The Aborigines of Australia (2nd ed.), 1899, Appendix
Lxxxviii., and "Tasmanian Firesticks," Nature, Lix. 1899, p. 606.
v] The Oceanic Negroes: Negritoes i6i
sustained\ Sollas illustrates an implement " delusively similar
to the head of an axe" and notes its resemblance to a
Levallois flake (Acheulean). J. P. Johnson' points out the
general likeness to pre-Aurignacian forms and there is a
remarkable similarity of certain examples to Mousterian
types. Weapons were of wood, and consisted of spears
pointed and hardened in the fire, and a club or waddy, about
two feet long, sometimes knobbed at one end ; the range is
said to have been about 40 yards.
In the native diet were included "snakes, lizards, grubs
and worms," besides the opossum, wombat, kangaroo, birds
and fishes, roots, seeds and fruits, but not human flesh, at
least normally. Like the Bushmen, they were
gross feeders, consuming enormous quantities
of food when they could get it, and the case is mentioned of
a woman who was seen to eat from 50 to 60 eggs of the
soojty petrel (larger than a duck's), besides a double allowance
of bread, at the station on Flinders Island. They had frail
bundles of bark made fast with thongs or rushes, half float,
half boat, to serve as canoes, but no permanent
abodes or huts, beyond branches of trees lashed "^ "'^^"
together, supported by stakes, and disposed crescent-shape
with the convex side to windward. On the uplands and
along the sea-shore they took refuge in caves, rock-shelters
and natural hollows. Usually the men went naked, the women
wore a loose covering of skins, and personal ornamentation
was limited to cosmetics of red ochre, plumbago, and powdered
charcoal, with occasionally a necklace of shells strung on a
fibrous twine.
Being merely hunters and collectors, with the arrival of
English colonists their doom was sealed. " Only in rare
instances can a race of hunters contrive to ^ . .
co-exist With an agricultural people. When the
hunting ground of a tribe is restricted owing to its partial
occupation by the new arrivals, the tribe affected is compelled
to infringe on the boundaries of its neighbours : this is to
break the most sacred 'law of the Jungle,' and inevitably
leads to war : the pressure on one boundary! is propagated
to the next, the ancient state of equilibrium is profoundly
disturbed, and inter-tribal feuds become increasingly frequent.
1 W. J. Sollas, Ancient Hunters, 1915, pp. $0, 106 fif.
2 Nature, xcii. 1913, p. 320.
K. II
i62 Man: Past and Present [ch. v
A bittef feeling is naturally aroused against the original
offenders, the alien colonists ; misunderstandings of all kinds
inevitably arise, leading too often to bloodshed, and ending
in a general conflict between natives and colonists, in which
the former, already weakened by disagreements amoftg them-'
selves, must soon succumb. So it was in Tasmania." After
the war of 1825 to 1831 the few wretched survivors, numbering
about 200, were gathered together into a settlement, and
from 1834 onwards every effort was made for their welfare,
" but ' the white man's civilisation proved scarcely less fatal
than the white man's bullet,' and in 1877, with the death of
Truganini, the last survivor, the race became extinct^"
' W. J. SoUas, Ancient Hunters, 1915, pp. 104-5.
CHAPTER VI
THE SOUTHERN MONGOLS
South Mongol Domain— Tibet, the Mongol Cradle-land— Stone Age in Tibet— The
Primitive Moitgol Type— The Balti and Ladakhi— Balti Type and Origins—
The Tibetans Proper— Type— The Bhotiyas— Prehistoric Expansion of the
Tibetan Race— Sub-Him4layan Groups : the Gurkhas— Mental Qualities of
the Tibetans — Lamaism — The Horsoks — The Tanguts — Polyandry — The
Bonbo Religion — Buddhist and Christian Ritualism— The Prayer-Wheel —
Language and Letters — Diverse Linguistic Types — Lepcha — Angami-Naga
and Kuki-Lushai Speech — Naga Tribes — General Ethnic Relations in Indo-
China — Aboriginal and Cultured Peoples — The Talaings — The Manipuri —
Religion— The Game of Polo— The Khel System— The Chins— Mental and
Physical Qualities — Gods, Nats, and the After-Life — The Kakhyens — Cau-
casfc Elements — The Karens — Type— Temperament — Christian Missions —
The Burmese — Type — Character — Buddhism — Position of Woman — Tattooing
— The Tai-Shan Peoples — The Ahom, Khamti and Chinese Shans — Shan
Cradle-land and Origins — Caucasic Contacts — Tai-Shan Toned Speech —
Shan, Lolo, and Mosso Writing Systems — Mosso Origins— Aborigines of
South China and Annam — Man-tse Origins and Affinities — Caucasic Abori-
gines in South-East Asia — The Siamese Shans — Origins and Early Records
— Social System — Buddhism — The Annamese — Origins — Physical and Mental
Characters — Language and Letters — Social Institutions — Religious Systems —
The Chinese — Origins — The Babylonian Theory — Persistence of Chinese
Culture and Social System — Letters and Early Records — Traditions of the
Stone and Metal Ages — Chinese Cradle and Early Migrations — Absorption
of the Aborigine^^^Survivals : Hok-lo, Hakka, Pun-ti-^Coiifucianism, Taoism,
Buddhism — Fung-shui and Ancestry Worship — Islam and Christianity — The
Mandarin Class.
Conspectus.
Present Range. Tibet; S. Himalayan Distribution in
Past and
Present Times.
slopes; Indo-Ckina to the Isthmus of Kra ;
China ; Formosa ; Parts of Malaysia.
H^if , uniformly black, lank, round in transverse section ;
sparse or no beard, moustache common. Colour, generally a
dirty yellowish brown, shading off to olive and . ;
coppery brown in the south, and to lemon or charactei-s.
whitish in N. China. Skull, normally brachy
(So to 84), but in parts of China sub-dolicho (77) and high.
Jaws, slightly prognathous. Cheek-bones, very high and
prominent laterally. Nose, very small, and concave, with
II — 2
164 Man : Past and Present [ch.
widish nostrils {mesorrkine), but often large and straight
amongst the upper classes. Eyes, small, black, and oblique
{outer angle slightly elevated'), vertical fold of skin over inner
canthus. Stature, below the average, 1-62 m. {5 ft. 4 in.),
but in N. China often tall, i-yj m. to i"82 m. {5 ft. 10 in:
to 6 ft.). Lips, rather thin, sometimes slightly protruding.
Arms, legs, and feet, of normal proportions, \calves rather
small.
Temperament. Somewhat sluggish, with little initiative,
but great endurance ; cunning rather than intelligent; generally
thrifty and industrious., but mostly indolent m
Characters Siam and Burma; moral standard low, with
slight sense of right and wrong.
Speech. Mainly isolating and monosyllabic, due to
phonetic decay ; loss of formative elements compensated by
tone ; some {south Chinese, Annamese) highly tonic, but others
{in Him,alayas and North Burma) highly agglutinating and
consequently toneless.
Religion. Ancestry and spirit-worship, underlying various
kinds of Buddhism; religious sentiment weak in Annam, strong
in Tibet ; thinly diffused in China.
Culture. Ranges from, sheer savagery {Indo-Chinese
aborigines) to a low phase of civilisation; some mechanical
arts {ceram.ics, m-etallurgy, weaving), and agriculture well
developed; painting, sculpture, and architecture mostly in the
barbaric stage; letters widespread, but true literature and
science slightly developed; stagnation very general.
Bod-pa. Tibetan; Tangut; Horsok; Si-fan; Balti;
„ . ^. Ladakhi; Gurkha; Bhotiya; Miri; Mishmi;
Mam Divisions, a 1, '
Burmese. Naga; Kuki-Lushai; Chin; Kakhyen;
Manipuri ; Karen; Talaing; Arakanese; Burmese proper.
Tai-Shan. Ahom'; Khamti; Ngiou; Lao; Siamese.
Giao-Shi. Annamese; Cochin-Chinese.
Chinese. Chinese proper; Hakka; Hok-l6; Pun-ti.
The Mongolian stock may be divided, into two main
branches': the. Mongo/o-Tatar, of the western area, and the
Tibeto- Indo-Chinese of the eastern area, the latter extending
into a secondary branch, Oceanic Mongols. These two, that
is, the main and secondary branch, which jointly occupy
' Ethnology, p. 300.
vi] The Southern Mongols 165
the greater part of south-east Asia with most of Malaysia
Madagascar, the PhiHppines and Formosa, will
form the subject of the present and following |°"^ia°"^°'
chapters. Allowing for encroachments and over-
lappings, especially in Manchuria and North Tibet, the
northern "divide" towards the Mongolo-Tatar domain is
roughly indicated by the Great Wall and the Kuen-lun range
westwards to the Hindu- Kush, and towards the south-west
by the Himalayas from the Hindu-Kush eastwards to Assam.
The Continental section thus comprises the whole of China
proper and Indo-China, together with a great part of Tibet
with Little Tibet (Baltistan and Ladakh), and the Himalayan
uplands including their southern slopes. This section is
again separated from the Oceanic section by the Isthmus of
Kra — the Malay Peninsula belonging ethnically to the insular
Malay world. " I believe," writes Warington Smyth, " that
the Malay never really extended further south than the Kra
isthmus'."
From the considerations advanced in Ethnology, Chap.
XII., it seems a reasonable assumption that the lacustrine
Tibetan tableland with its Himalayan escarpments, all standing
in pleistocene times at a considerably lower level -^-^^ the
than at present, was the cradle of the Mongol Mongol
division of mankind. Here were found all the Cradle-land,
natural conditions favourable to the development of a new
variety of the species moving from the tropics northwards —
ample space such as all areas of marked specialisation seem
to require ; a different and cooler climate than that of the
equatorial region, though, thanks to its then lower elevation,
warmer than that of the bleak and now barely inhabitable
Tibetan plateau ; extensive plains, nowhere perhaps too
densely wooded, intersected by ridges of moderate height,
and diversified by a lacustrine system far more extensive than
that revealed by the exploration of modern travellers^
Under these circumstances, which are not matter of mere
speculation, but to be directly inferred from the observations
of intelligent explorers and of trained Anglo-Indian surveyors,
it would seem not only probable but inevitable that the
1 Geogr. Joum., May, 1898, p. 491. This statement must of course be taken
as having reference only to the historical Malays and their comparatively late
migrations.
2 For the desiccation of Asia see P. Kropotkin, Geogr. Joum. xxiii. 1904 ;
E. Huntington, The Pulse of Asia, 19071
1 66 Man: Past and Present [ch,
pleistocene Indo-Malayan should become modified and
improved in his new and more favourable Central Asiatic
environment.
Later, with the gradual upheaval of the land to a mean
altitude of some 14,000 feet above sea-lie,vel, the climate
deteriorated, and the present somewhat rude and rugged
inhabitants of Tibet are to be regarded as the outcome of
slow adaptation to their slowly changing surroundings since the
occupation of the country by the Indor-Makyan pleistocene
precursor. To this precursor Tibet was accessible either
from India or from Indo-China, and although
TOet."^^^*" few of his implements have yet been reported
from the plateau, it is certain that Tibet h^s
passed through the Stone as well as the Metal Ages. In
Bogle's time "thunder-stones" were still used for tonsuring
the lamas, and even now stone cooking-pots are found
amongst the shepherds of the uplands, although they arei
acquainted both with copper and iron. In India also and
Indo-China palaeoliths of rude type occur at various points —
Arcot, the Narbada gravels, Mirzapi3r\ the Jrawadi valley
and the Shan territory — as if to indicate the routes followed
by early man in his migrations from Indg-Malaysia north-
wards.
Thus, where man is silent the stones speak, and so old are
these links of past and present that amongst the Shans, as in
ancient Greece, their origin being entirely forgotten, they are
often mounted as jewellery and worn as charms against mishaps.
Usually the Mongols proper, that is, the steppe nomads
who have more than once overrun half the eastern hemisphere,
are taken as the typical and original stem of the Mongolian
stock. But if Ch. de Ujfalvy's view's can be accepted this
honour will now have to be -transferred to the
MongoiType. Tibetans, who still occupy the supposed cradle
of the race. This .veteran student of the Central
Asiatic peoples describes two Mongol types, a northern round-
headed and a southern long-headed, and thinks that the latter,
which includes "the Ladakhi, the Champas g,nd Tibetans
proper," was " the primitive Mongol type^"
1 See J, Cockbum's paper " Qn Pglaeplithic Iinplemgnts," etc., in Journ.
Anthr. Inst. 1887, p. 57 sq.
2 "Le type, pfifpitif des Mongols est pour nous, dolichoeephale" {Les Aryens
au Nord et au Sud de V Hindou-Kouchf 1396, p. 50).
vi] l^he Southern Mongols 167
Owing to the political seclusion of Tibet, the. race has
hitherto been studied chiefly in outlying provinces beyond the
frontiers, such as Ladakh, Baltistan, and Sikkim\
that is, in districts where mixture with other Ladakhi!'^"^
races may be suspected. Indeed de Ujfalvy,
who has made a careful survey of Baltistan and Ladakh,
assures us that, while the Ladakhi represent two varieties of
Asiatic man with ceph. index 'j'j, the Balti are not Tibetans
or Mongols at all, but descendants of the historical Sacae,
although now of Tibetan speech and Moslem faithl They
are of the mean height or slightly above it, with rather low
brow, very prominertt superciliary arches, deep
depression at nasal root, thick curved eyebrows, origii^^''^ *°^
long, straight or arched nose, thick lips, oval
chin, small cheek-bones, small flat ears, straight eyes, very
black and abundant ringletty {boucli) hair, full beard, • usually
black and silky, robust hairy body, small hands and feet, and
long head (index 72). In such characters it is impossible to
recognise the Mongol, and the contrast is most striking with
the neighbouring Ladakhi, true Mongols, as shown by their
slightly raised superciliary arches, Square and scarcely curved
eyebrows, slant eyes, large prominent cheek-bones, lank and
coarse hair, yellowish and nearly hairless body.
Doubtless there has been a considerable interniingling of
Balti and Ladakhi, and in recent times still more of Balti
and Dards (Hindu-Kush "Aryans"), whence Leitner's view
that the Balti are Dards at a remote period conquered by the
Bh6ts (Tibetans), losing their speech with their independence-
But of all these peoples the Balti were in former times the
most civilised, as shown by the remarkable rock-carvings still
found in ,the country, and attributed by the present inhabitants
to a long vanished race. Some of these carvings represent
warriors mounted and on foot, the resemblance being often
very striking between them and the persons figured on the
coins of the Sacae kings both in their physical appearance,
attitudes, arms, and accoutrements. The • Balti are still
famous horsemen, and with them is said to have originated
1 Thus Risley's Tibetan measurements were all of subjects from Sikkim and
Nepal {Tribes and Castes of Bengal, Calcutta, i&g6, passtm)- In the East, how-
ever, Desgodins and other French missionaries have had better opportunities of
studying true Tibetans amongst the Si-fan ('* Western Strangers"), as the frontier
populations are called by the Chinese.
2 Op. cit. p. 319.
1 68 Man : Past and Present [ch.
the game -of polo, which has thence spread to the surrounding
peoples as far as Chitral and Irania.
From all these considerations it is inferred that the Balti
are the direct descendants of the Sacae, who invaded India
about 90 B.C., not from the west (the Kabul valley) as generally
stated, but from the north over the Karakorum Passes leading
directly to Baltistan^ Thus lives again a name renowned in
antiquity, and another of those links is established between
the past and the present, which it is. the province of the
historical ethnologist to rescue from oblivion.
In Tibet proper the ethnical relations have been confused
by the loose way tribal and even national names are referred
to by Prjevalsky and some other modern ex-
PropX''*^-**'*^ plorers. It should therefore be explained that
three somewhat distinct branches of the race
have to be carefully distinguished: i. The Bod-pa", "Bod-
men," the settled and more or less civilised section, who
occupy most of the southern and more fertile provinces of
which Lhasa is the capital, who till the land,
TMguts^™''*' li^^ i" towns, and have passed from the tribal
to the civic state. 2. The Dru-pa^, peaceful
though semi-nomadic pastoral tribes, who live in tents on the
northern plateaux, over 15,000 feet above sea-level. 3. The
Tanguts^, restless, predatory tribes, who hover about the
north-eastern borderland between Koko-nor and Kansu.
1 Op. cit. p. 327. Here we are reminded that, though the Sacae are called
" Scythians " by Herodotus and other ancient writers, under this vague expression
were comprised a multitude of heterogeneous peoples, amongst whom were types
corresponding to all the main varieties of Mongolian, western Asiatic, and eastein
European peoples. " Aujourd'hui I'ancien type sace, adouci parmi les melanges,
reparait et constitue le type si caractdristique, si complexe et si different de ses
voisins que nous appelons le type balti" (p. 328).
^ W. W. Rockhill, our best living authority, accepts none of the current ex-
planations of the widely diffused term bod {bkdt, bhof), which appears to form the
second element in the word Tibet {Stod-Bod, pronounced Teu-Beu, " Upper Bod,"
i.e. the central and western parts in contradistinction to Mdn-Bod, " Lower Bod,"
the eastern provinces). Notes on the Ethnology of Tibet, Washington, 1895, p. 669.
This writer finds the first mention of Tibet in the form Tobbat (there are many
variants) in the Arab Istakhri's works, about 590 A.H., while T. de Lacouperie
would connect it with the Tatar kingdom of Tu-bat (397-475 A.D.). This name
might easily have been extended by the Chinese from the Tatars of Kansu to the
neighbouring Tanguts, and thus to all Tibetans.
^ Hbrog-pa, Drok-pa, pronounced Dru-pa.
* The Mongols apply the name Tangut to Tibet and call all Tibetans Tan-
giftu, " which, should be discarded as useless and misleading, as the people
inhabiting this section of the country are pure Tibetans" (Rockhill, p. 670)., It
is curious to note that the Mongol Tangutu is balanced by the Tibetan Sok-pa,
often apphed to all MongoUans.
■^i] The Southern Mongols ' 169
All these are true Tibetans, speak the Tibetan language,
and profess one or other of the two national religions,
Bondo and Lamaism (the Tibetan form of Buddhism). But
the original type is best preserved, not amongst the cultured
Bod-pa, who in many places betray a considerable admixture
both of Chinese and Hindu elements, but amongst the
Dru-pa, who on their bleak upland steppes have for ages had
little contact with the surrounding Mongolo-Turki populations.
They are described by W. W. Rockhill from personal
observation as about five feet five inches high, and round-
headed, with wavy hair, clear-bro'^n and even hazel eye,
cheek-bone less high than the Mongol, thick nose, depressed
at the root, but also prominent and even aquiline and narrow
but with broad nostrils, large-lobed ears standing out to a less
degree than the Mongol, broad mouth, long black hair, thin
beard, generally hairless body, broad shoulders, very small
calves, large foot, coarse hand, skin coarse and greasy and of
light brown colour, though " frequently nearly white, but when
exposed to the weather a dark brown, nearly the colour of our
American Indians. Rosy cheeks are quite common amongst
the younger women\"
Some of these characters — wavy hair, aquiline nose,
hazel eye, rosy cheeks — are not Mongolic, and despite
W. W. Rockhill's certificate of racial purity, one is led to
suspect a Caucasic strain, perhaps through the neighbouring
Salars. These are no doubt sometimes called Kara-
Tangutans, " Black Tangutans," from the colour of their tents,
but we learn from Potanin, who visited them in 1885 ', that they
are Muhammadans of Turki stock and speech, and we already
know' that from a remote period the Turki people were in close
contact with Caucasians. The Salars pitch their tents on the
banks of the Khitai and other Yang-tse-Kiang headstreams.
That the national name Bod-pa must be of considerable
antiquity is evident from the Sanskrit expression Bhotiya,
derived from it, and long applied by the ^^e Bhotiyas '
Hindus collectively to all southern Tibetans,
1 Notes on the Ethnology of Tibet, 1895, p. 675 ; see also S. Chandra Das,
Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet, 1904 ; F. Grenard, Tibet: the Country and
its Inhabitants, 1904 ; G. Sandberg, Tibet and the Tibetans, 1906 ; and
L. A. Waddell, Lhasa and its Mysteries, with a record of the Expedition of
1903-1904, 1905.
2 Isvestia, XXI. 3.
3 Ethnology, p. 305.
1 70 -Man : Past and Present [ch.
but especially to, those of the Himalayan slopes, such as the
Rongs (Lepchas) of Sikkim and the Lho-pa, dominant in
Bhutan, properly Bhdt^dnt, that is, "Land's End"^the
extremity of Tibet. Eastwards also the Tibetan race stretches
far beyond the political frontiers into the Koko-nor region
(Tanguts), and the Chinese province of Se-chuan, where they
are grouped with all the other Si-fan aborigines. Towards
the south-east are the kindred Tawattgs, Mishmi, Miri, Abor^,
Daflas, and many others about the Assam borderlands, all of
whom may be regarded as true Bhotiyas in the wild state.
Through these the primitive Tibetan race extends into
Burma, where, however it has become greatly modified and
Prehistoric &gain civilised Under different climatic and
Expansion of cultural influences. Thus we see how, in the
theTibetg,n course of ages, the Bod-pa have widened their
domain, radiating, in all directions from the
central cradle-land about the Upper Brahmaputra (San-po)
valley westwards into Kashmir> eastwards into China, south-
wards down the Himalayan slopes to the Gangetic plains,
south-eastwards to Indo-China. In some places they have
come into contact with other races and disappeared either by
total extinction or by absorption (India, Hindu-Kush), or else
preserved their type while accepting the speech, religion, and
culture of later intruders. Such are the GarhwaM, and many
groups in Nepal, especially the dominant Gwkhas {Khas^), of
whom there are twelve branches, all Aryanised and since the
twelfth century speaking the Parbatiia, Bkasha, a Prakrit or
vulgar Sanskrit tongue current amongst an extremely mixed
population of about 2,oqo,ooo.
In other directions the migrations took place in remote
prehistoric times, the primitive proto-Tibetan groups becoming
' Abor, i.e. "independent," is the name applied by the Assamese to the East
Hinialayan hill tribes, the Minyong, Padam and Hrasso, who are the Slo of the
Tibetans. These are all affiliated by Desgodins to the Lho-pa of Bhutan {BuL
Soc. Giogr., October, 1877, p. 431), and are to be distinguished from the Bori
{i.e. "dependent") tribes of the plains, all more or less Hinduized Bhotiyas
(Dalton, Ethnology of Bengal, p. 22 sq.). See A. Hamilton, In Abor Jungles,
19.12.
* Not to be confused with the Khas, as the wild tribes of the Lao country
(Siam) are collectively called. Capt. Eden Vansittart thinks in Nepal the term\
is an abbreviation of Kshatriya, or else means "fallen." This authority tells us
that, although the Khas are true Gurkhas, it is not the Kbas who enlist in our
Gurkha regiments, but chiefly the Magars and Gurungs, who are of p'urer Bhotiya
race and less completely Hinduized ("The Tribes, Clans, an^ Castes of Nepal,"
in Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, LXIII. I, No. 4).
vi] The Southern Mongols 171
more and more specialised as they receded farther and farther
from the cradle-land into Mongolia, Siberia, China, Farther
India, and Malaysia. This is at least how I understand the
peopling of a great part of the eastern hemisphere by an
original nucleus of Mongolic type first differentiated from
a pleistocene precursor on the Tibetan tableland.
Strangely contradictory 'estimates have been formed of the
temperament and mental characters of the Bod-pa, some, such
as that of Turner', no doubt too favourable!
while others err perhaps in the opposite direction, '^^'"p*"'"*"*-
Thus Desgodins, who nevertheless knew them well, describes
the cultured Tibetan of the south as " a slave towards the
great, a despot towards the weak, knavish or treacherous
according to circumstances, always on the look-out to defraud,
and lying impudently to attain his end," and much more to the
same effect ^
W. W. Rockhill, who is less severe, thinks that "the
Tibetan's character is not as black as Horace della Penna and
Desgodins have painted it. Intercourse with these people
extending over six years leads me to believe that the Tibetan
is kindhearted, affectionate, and law-abiding^" He concludes,
however, with a not very flattering native estimate deduced
from the curious national legend that " the earliest inhabitants
of Tibet descended from a king of monkeys and a female
hobgoblin, and the character of the race perhaps from those of
its first parents. From the king of monkeys [he .was an
incarnate god] they have religious faith and kindheartedness,
intelligence and application, devotion to religion and to
religious debate ; from the hobgoblin they get cruelty, fond-
ness for trade and money^making, great bodily strength,
lustfulness, fondness for gossip, and carnivorous instinct"."
While they are cheerful under a depressing priestly regime,
all allow that they are vindictive, superstitious, and cringing in
the presence of the lamas, who are at heart more -ca ^^ e
dreaded than revered. In fact the whole Lamaism on the
religious world is one vast organised system Tibetan
of hypocrisy, and above the old pagan beliefs ^ ^^acter.
1 Embassy to the Court of the Tesheo Lama, p. 350 sq.
2 *'VoilJi, je crois, le vrai Til}etg.in des p3,ys cultives du sud, qui se regarde
comme bien plus civilis^ que les pasteurs ou bergers du nord" {Le Thibet, p. 253).
3 Notes on the Ethnology, etc., p. 677. It may here be remarked that the
unfriendliness of which travellers often complain appears mainly inspired by the
Buddhist theocracy, who rule the land and are jealous of all " interlopers."
* Ibid. p. 678.
172 Man: Past and Present [ch.
common to all primitive peoples there is merely a veneer of
Buddhism, above which follows another and most pernicious
veneer of lamaism (priestcraft), under the yoke of which the
natural development of the people has been almost completely
arrested for several centuries. The burden is borne with
surprising endurance, and would be intolerable but for the
relief found in secret and occasionally even open revolt against
the more oppressive ordinances of the ecclesiastical rule.
Thus, despite the prescriptions regarding a strict vegetarian
diet expressed in the formula '" eat animal flesh eat thy
brother," not only laymen but most of the lamas themselves
supplement their frugal diet of milk, butter, barley-meal, and
fruits with game, yak, and mutton — this last pronounced by
Turner the best in the world. The public conscience, how-
ever, is saved by a few extra turns of the prayer-wheel at such
repasts, and by the general contempt in which is held the
hereditary caste of butchers, who like the Jews in medieval
times are still confined to a "ghetto" of their own in all the
large towns.
These remarks apply more particularly to the settled
southern communities living in districts where a little agri-
_. „ , culture is possible. Elsewhere tRe religious cloak
The Horsoks. . ^ , , , , , o _ , .
IS worn very loosely, and the nomad Horsoks 01
the northern steppes, although all nominal Buddhists, pay but
scant respect to the decrees supposed to emanate from the
Dalai Lama enshrined in Lhasa. Horsok is an almost unique
ethnical term^ being a curious compound of the two names
applied by the Tibetans to the Hor-pa and the Sok-pa who
divide the steppe between them. The Hor-pa, who occupy the
western parts, are of Turki stock, and are the only group of that
race known to me who profess Buddhism^ all the rest being
Muhammadans with some Shamanists (Yakuts) in the Lena
basin. The Sok-pa, who roam the eastern plains and valleys,
although commonly called Mongols, are true Tibetans or
more strictly speaking Tanguts, of whom there are here two
branches, the Goliki and the Yegrai, all, like the Hor-pa, of
Tibetan speech. The Yegrai, as described by Prjevalsky,
closely resemble the other North Tibetan tribes,
with their long, matted locks falling on their
' with it may be compared the Chinese province of Kan-su, so named from
its two chief towns ^a«-chau and 5a-chau (Yule's Marco Polo, I. p. 222).
2 "Buddhist Turks," says Sir H. H. Howorth {Geogr. Joum. 1887, p. 230).
vi] The Southern Mongols 173
shoulders, their scanty whiskers and beard, angular head,
dark complexion and dirty garb\
Besides stock-breeding and predatory warfare, all these
groups follow the hunt, armed with darts, bows, and match-
lock guns; the musk-deer is ensnared, and the only animal
spared is the stag, "Buddha's horse." The taste of these,
rude nomads for liquid blood is insatiable, and the surveyor,
Nain Singh, often saw them fall prone on the ground to lick
up the blood flowing from a wounded beast. As soon as
weaned, the very children and even the horses are fed on
a diet of cheese, butter, and blood, kneaded together in a
horrible mess, which is greedily devoured when the taste is
acquired. On the other hand alcoholic drinks are little
consumed, the national beverage being coarse Chinese tea
imported in the form of bricks and prepared with tsampa
(barley-meal) and butter, and thus becoming a food as well as
a drink. The lamas have a monopoly of this tea-trade, which
could not stand the competition of the Indian growers; hence
arises the chief objection to removing the barriers of seclusion.
Tibet is one of the few regions where polyandrous customs,
intimately associated with the matriarchal state, still persist
almost in their pristine vigour. The husbands
are usually but not necessarily all brothers, poiy^ry
and the bride is always obtained by purchase.
Unless otherwise arranged, the oldest husband is the putative
"father," all the others being considered as "uncles." An
inevitable result of the institution is to give woman a domi-
nant position in society; hence the "queens" of certain tribes,
referred to with so much astonishment by the early Chinese
chroniclers. Survivors of this "petticoat government" have
been noticed by travellers amongst the Lolos, Mossos, and
other indigenous communities about the Indo-Chinese frontiers.
But it does not follow that polyandry and a matriarchal state
always and necessarily preceded polygyny and a patriarchal
state. On the contrary, it would appear that polyandry never
could have been universal ; possibly it arose from special
conditions in particular regions, where the struggle for exist-
ence is severe, and the necessity of imposing limits to the
increase of population more urgent than elsewhere'. Hence
1 E. Delmar Morgan, Geogr. Journ. 1887, p. 226.
2 "Whatever may have been the origin of polyandry, there can be no doubt
that poverty, a desire to keep down population, and to keep property undivided
in families, supply sufficient reason to justify its continuance. The same motives
174 Man: Past and Present [cH.
to me it seems as great a mistake to assume a matriafchate as
it is to assume promiscuity as the urtiversal antecedent of all
latef family relations. In Tibet itself polygyny exists side
by side with polyafldry amongst the Wealthy classes, while
monogamy is the fule amongst the poof pastoral nomads of
the northern steppe.
Great ethnical importaftce has been attached by some
distinguished anthropologists to the treatment of the dead.
But, as in the New Stone and Metal Ages in
Customs Europe cremation and burial were practised side
by side\ so in Tibet the dead are now simul-
taneously disposed of in diverse ways. It is a question not
so much of race as of caste or social classes, of of the lama's
pleasure, whoj when the_ head has been shaved to facilitate
the tfansmigration of the soul, may ordei^ the body to be
burnt; buried, cast ifito the river, Or even thrown to carrion
birds or beasts of prey. Strange, to say, the last method,
carried out with certain formalities, is one of the most honour-
able, although the lamas are generally buried in a seated
posture, and high officials burnt, and (in Ladakh) the ashes,
mixed with a little clay, kneaded into much venerated effigies —
doubtless a survival of ancestry Worship.
Reference was above made to the primitive Shamanistic
ideas which still survive beneath the Buddhist and the later
lamaistic systems. In the central and eastern provinces of
Ui and Tsang this pre-Buddhist religion has
ReUrion ''" again stf uggled to the surface, or rather persisted
under the name of Bonbo [Boa-ko) side by side
with the national creed, from which it has even borrowed
many of its present rites. From the colouf of the robes
usually worn by its priests, it is known as the sect of the
"Blacks," in contradistinction to the ofthodox "Yellow" and
dissenting "Red" lamaists, and as now constituted, its origin
is attributed to Shen-rab (Gsen-rabs), who flourished about
the fifth century befofe the new era, and is venerated as the
equal of Buddha himself. His followers, who were powefful
enough to drive Buddhism from Tibet in the tenth century,
worship 1 8 chief deities, the best known being the red and
explain its existence among the lower castes of Malabar, among the Jat (Sikhs)
of the Panjab, among the Todas, and probably in most other countries ih which
this custom prevails " (Rockhill, p. 726).
' T. Rice Holmes, Ancient Britain, 1907, pp. no and 465-6.
vi] The Southefn Mongols 175
black demons, the snake devil, and especially the fiery
tiger-god, father of all the secondary members of this truly
"diabolical pantheon." It is curious to note that the sacfed
symbol of the Bonbo sect is the ubiquitous svastika, only
with the hooks of the cross reversed, F=bd instead of tf-i .
This change, which appears to have escaped the diligent
research of Thomas Wilson', was caused by the practice of
turning the prayer-wheel from right to left as the red lamas
do, instead of from left to right as is the orthodox way. The
common Buddhist formula of six &f^2LiA^s-—om^ina-ni-pad-.ine-
hum — is also replaced by one of seven syllables^»?fl-/rz^«o«-
tre-sa-ta-dzun ",
Buddhism itself, introduced by Hindu missionaries, is more
recent than is commonly supposed. Few conversions were
made before the fifth century of our era, and
the first temple dates only from the year 698. ^^^ La^stn
Reference is often made to the points of contact
or "coincidences" which have been observed between this
system and that of the Oriental and Latin Christian Churches.
There is no question of a common dogma, and the numerous
resemblances are concerned only with ritualistic details, such
as the cross, the mitr6, dalmatica, and other distinctive Vest-
ments, choir singing, exorcisms, the thurible, Buddhist
benedictions with outstretched . hand, celibacy, and Christian
the rosary, fasts, processions, litanies, spiritual K'*"*'is'"-
retreats-, holy water, scapulars or other charms, prayer
addressed to the saints, relics, pilgrimages, music and bells
at the service, monasticism ; this last being developed to
a far greater extent in Tibet than at any time in any Christian
land, Egypt not excepted. The lamas, representing the
regular clergy of the Roman Church, hold a monopoly of all
"science," letters, and arts. The block printing-presses are
all kept in the huge monasteries which cover the land, and
from them are consequently issued only orthodox works and
treatises on magic. Religion itself is little better than- a
system of magk, and the sole aim of all worship, reduced to
a mere mechanical system of routine, is to baffle the machi-
nations of the demons who at every turn beset the path of
the wayfarer through this "vale of tears."
1 At least no reference is liiade to the Bonbo practice in his almost exhaustive
monograph on The Swastika, Washington, 1896. The reversed form, however,
mentioned by Max MUlier and Burnouf, is figured at p. 767 and elsewliere.
2 Sarat Chandra T)?i.s,Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 1881-2.
1 76 Man : Past and Present [ch.
For this purpose the prayer-wheels — an ingenious con-
trivance by which innumerable supplications, not
v^ed'^*^*'^' ^^^^ efficacious because vicarious, may be offered
up night and day to the powers of darkness —
are incessantly kept going all over the land, some being so
cleverly arranged that the sacred formula may be repeated as
many as 40,000 times at each revolution of the cylinder.
These machines, which have also been introduced into Korea
and Japan, have been at work for several centuries without
any. appreciable results, although fitted up in all the houses,
by the river banks or on the hill-side, and kept in motion by
the hand, wind, and water; while others of huge size, 30 -to
40 feet high and 1 5 to 20 in diameter, stand in the temples,
and at each turn repeat the contents of whole volumes of
liturgical essays stowed away in their capacious receptacles.
But despite all these everlasting revolutions, stagnation reigns
supreme throughout the most priest-ridden land under the sun.
With its religion Tibet imported also its letters from India
by the route of Nepal or Kashmir in the seventh
Lettere*^^ *°** century. Since then the language has under-
gone great changes, always, like other members
of the Indo-Chinese family, in the direction from aggluti-
nation towards monosyllabism\ But the orthography, apart
from a few feeble efforts at reform, has remained stationary,
so that words are still written as they were pronounced
1 200 years ago. The result is a far greater discrepancy
between the spoken and written tongue than in any other
language, English not excepted. Thus the province of Ui
has been identified by Sir A. Cunningham with Ptolemy's
Debasae through its written form Dbus, though now always
pronounced f/^ This bears out de Lacouperie's view that all
words were really uttered as originally spelt, although often
beginning with as many as three consonants. Thus sprct
(monkey) is now pronounced deu in the Lhasa dialect, but
still streu-go in that of the province of Kham. The phonetic
disintegration is still going on, so that, barring reform, the
time must come when there .will be no correspondence at, all
between sound and its graphic expression,
1 This point, so important in the .history of linguistic evolution, has I think
been fairly established by T. de Lacouperie in a series of papers in the Oriental
and Babylonian Record, i888-go. See G. A. Grierson's Linguistic Survey of
India, lll. Tibeto-Burman Family, 1906, by Sten Konovv.
" Laddk, London, 1854.
vi] The Southern Mongols 177
On the other hand it is a mistake to suppose that all
languages in the Indo-Chinese linguistic zone have undergone
this enormous extent of phonetic decay. The
indefatigable B. H. Hodgson has made us ac- ^IstifTyJes.
quainted with several, especially in Nepal, which
are qf a highly conservative character. Farther east the
Lepcha (properly Rong) of Sikkim presents the ^ .
remarkable peculiarity of distinct agglutination ^^^
of the Mongolo-Turki, or perhaps I should say of the Kuki-
Lushai type, combined with numerous homophones and a
total absence of tone. Thus pano-sa, of a king, pano-sang,
kings, and pano-sang-sa, of kings, shows pure agglutination,
while mdt yields no less than twenty-three distinct meanings',
which should necessitate a series of discriminating tones, as
in Chinese or Siamese. Their absence, however, is readily
explained by the persistence of the agglutinative principle,
which renders them unnecessary.
A somewhat similar feature is presented by the Angami
Naga, the chief language of the Naga Hills, of which
R. B. McCabe writes that it is "still in a very
primitive stage of the agglutinating class," and ^|a"speech.
"peculiarly rich in intonation," although "for
one Naga who clearly marks these tonal distinctions twenty
fail to do so^" It follows that it is mainly spoken without
tones, and although said to be "distinctly monosyllabic" it
really abounds in polysyllables, such as merenama, orphan,
keMztisaporimo, nowhere, dukriwdchd, to kill, etc. There are
also numerous verbal formative elements given by McCabe
himself, so that Angami must clearly be included in the
agglutinating order. To this order also belongs beyond all
doubt the Kuki-Lushai of the neighbouring
North Kachar Hills and parts of Nagaland itself, j^i^t^'
the common speech in fact of the Rangkhols,
^ G. B. Mainwaring, A Grammar of the Rong [Lepcha) Language, etc.,
Calcutta, 1876, pp. 128-9.
^ Outline Grammar of the Angdmi-Naga Language, Calcutta, 1887, pp. 4, 5.
For an indication of the astonishing number of distinct languages in the whole of
this region see Gertrude M. Godden's paper " On the Naga and other Frontier
Tribes of North-East India," in Journ. Anthr. Inst. 1897, p. 165. Under the
heading Tibeto-Burman Languages Sten Konow recognises Tibetan, Himalayan,
North Assam, Bodo, Naga, Kuki-Chin, Meitei and Kachin. The Naga group
comprises dialects of very different kinds ; some approach Tibetan and the North
Assam group, others lead over to the Bodo, others connect with Tibeto-Burman.
Meitei lies midway between Kuki-Chin and Kachin, and these merge finally in
Burmese. Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India, Vol. in. 1903-6.
K. 12
178 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Jansens, Lushai, Roeys and other hill peoples, collectively
called Kuki by the lowlanders, and Dzo by themselves \
The highly agglutinating character of this language is evident
from the numerous conjugations given by Soppitt^ for some
of which he has no names, but which may be called Accelera-
tives, Retar datives, Complementatives, and so on. Thus with
the root, ahong, come, and infix jdm, slow, is formed the
retardative ndng ahongjdmrangmoh, "will-you-come-slowly?"
(rang, future, moh, interrogative particle) ^
The Kuki, the Naga and the Manipuri, none of which
claim to be the original occupants of the country, have a
^ _ .. tradition of a common ancestor, who had three
sons who became the progenitors of the tribes.
The Kuki are found almost everywhere throughout Manipur.
"We are like the birds of the air," said a Kuki to T. C. Hodson,
" we make our nests here this year, and who knows where we
shall build next year* ? " The following description is given of
the Naga tribes, Tangkhuls, Mao and Maram Nagas {Angami
Nagas), Kolya, or Mayang Khong group, Kabuis, Quoirengs,
Chirus and Marring^. " Differences of stature, dress,
coiffure and weapons make it easy to distinguish between the
members of these tribes. In colour they are all brown with
but little variety, though some of the Tangkhuls who earn
their living by salt making seem to be darker. Among them
all, as among the Manipuris, there are persons who have a
tinge of colour in their cheeks when still young. The nose
also varies, for there are cases where it is almost straight,
while in the majority of individuals it is flattened at the nostril.
Here and there one may see noses which in profile are almost
Roman. The eyes are usually brown, though black eyes are
sometimes found to occur. The jaw is generally clean, not
1 Almost hopeless confusion continues to prevail in the tribal nomenclature of
these multitudinous hill peoples. The official sanction given to the terms Kuki
and Lushai as collective names may be regretted, but seems now past remedy.
Kuki is unknown to the people themselves, while Lushai is only the name of a
single group proud of their head-hunting proclivities, hence they call themselves,
or perhaps are called Lu-Shai, " Head-Cutters," from lu head, sha to cut (G. H.
Damant). Other explanations suggested by C. A. Soppitt {Kuki-Lushai Tribes,
with an Outline Grammar of the Rangkhol- Lushai Language, Shillong, 1887)
cannot be accepted. ^ Op. cit.
^ See G. A. Grierson and Sten Konow in Gn&rson's Linguistic Survey of India,
Vol. III. Part II. Bodo, Naga and Kachin, 1903, Part ill. Kuki-Chin and Burma,
1904.
* The Naga Tribes of Manipur, 1911, p. 2. Cf. J. Shakespear, "The Kuki-
Lushai Clzxis," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XXXix. 1909.
vi] The Southern Mongols 179
heavy, and the hair is of some variety, as there are many
persons whose hair is decidedly curly, and in most there is a
wave. Beards are very uncommon, and hair on the face is
very rare, so much so that the few who possess a moustache
are known as khoi-hao-bas-(}l\.€\X}a.€\ words, meaning moustache
grower). I am informed that the ladies do not like hirsute
men, and that the men therefore pull out any stray hairs.
The cheekbones are often prominent and the slope of the eye
is not very marked'." The stature is moderate varying from
the slender lightly built Marrings to the tall sturdy finely
proportioned Maos. The women are all much shorter than
the men, but strongly built with a muscular development of
which the men would not be ashamed. The land is thickly
peopled with local deities and at Maram the case is recorded
of a Rain Deity who was once a man of the village specially
cunning in rain making. Among the points of special interest
in this region are the stone monuments still erected in honour
of the dead, and the custom of head-hunting, connected with
simple blood feud, with agrarian rites, with funerary rites and
eschatological belief, and in some cases no more than a social
duty'.
Through these Naga and Kuki aborigines we pass without
any break of continuity from the Bhotiya populations of the
Himalayan slopes to those of I ndo-China. Here .^.j^ ^^ .
also, as indeed in nearly all semi-civilised lands. Ethnical Rela-
peoples at various grades of culture are found tionsinlndo-
dwelling for ages side by side — rude and savage *"*■
groups on the uplands or in the more dense wooded tracts,
settled communities with a large measure of political unity (in
fact nations and peoples in the strict sense of those terms) on
the lowlands, and especially along the rich alluvial riverine
plains of this well watered region. The common theory is
that the wild tribes represent the true aborigines driven to the
hills and woodlands by civilised invaders from India and other
lands, who are now represented by the settled communities.
Whether such movements and dislocations have elsewhere
taken place we need not here stop to inquire ; indeed their
probability, and in some instances their certainty may be frankly
> Op. cit. p. 5.
2 Op. cit. p. 122. A custom of human sacrifice among the Naga is. described
in the Journal of the Burma Research Society, 191 1, " Human Sacrifices near the
Upper Chindwin."
i8o Man : Pust and Present [ch.
admitted. But I cannot think that the theory expresses the
true relations in most parts of Farther India. Here the
^. . . civiHsed peoples, and ex hypothesi the intruders,
and Cultured are the Manipuri, Burmese, Arakanese, and the
Peoples of one nearly extinct or absorbed Talaings or Mons in
*"^ ■ the west ; the Siamese, Shans or Laos, and
Khamti in the centre ; the Annamese (Tonkinese and Cochin-
Chinese), Cambojans, and the almost extinct Champas in the
east. Nearly all of these I hold to be quite as indigenous as
the hillmen, the only difference being that, thanks to their
more favourable environment, they emerged at an early date
from the savage state and thus became more receptive to
foreign civilising influences, mostly Hindu, but also Chinese
(in Annam). All are either partly or mainly of Mongolic or
Indonesian type, and all speak toned Indo-Chinese languages,
except the Cambojans and Champas, whose linguistic relations
are with the Oceanic peoples, who are not here in question.
The cultivated languages are no doubt full of Sanskrit or
Prakrit terms in the west and centre, and of Chinese in the
east, and all, except Annamese, which lises a Chinese ideo-
graphic system, are written with alphabets derived through
the square Pali characters from the Devanagari. It is also
true that the vast monuments of Burma, Siam, and Camboja
all betray Hindu influences, many of the temples being covered
with Brahmanical or Buddhist sculptures and inscriptions. But
precisely analogous phenomena are reproduced in Java,
Sumatra, and other Malaysian lands, as well as in Japan and
partly in China itself. Are we then to conclude that there
have been Hindu invasions and settlements in all these regions,
the most populous on the globe ? '
During the historic period a few Hinduized Dravidians^
especially Tehngas (Telugus) of the Coromandel coast, have
from time to time emigrated to Indo-:China
TaTaings. (Peg^)' where the name survives amongst the
" Takings," that is, the Mons, by whom they
were absorbed, just as the Mons themselves are now being
absorbed by the Burmese. Others of the same connection
have gained a footing here and there in Malaysia, especially
the Malacca coastlands, where they are called " KlingsV'
i.e. Telings, Telingas.
^ It is a curious phonetic phenomenon that the combinations kl and tl are
indistinguishable in utterance, so that it is immaterial whether this term be written
vi] The Southern Mongols i8i
But beyond these partial movements, without any kind of
influence on the general ethnical relations, I know of no Hindu
(some have even used the term " AryaCn," and have brought
Aryans to Camboja) invasions except those of a moral order —
the invasions of the zealous Hindu missionaries, both Brahman
and Buddhist, which, however, amply suffice to account for all
the above indicated points of contact between the Indian, the
Indo-Chinese, and the Malayan populations.
That the civilised lowlanders and rude highlanders are
generally of the same aboriginal stocks is well seen in the
Manipur district with its fertile alluvial plains and — „ . .
encircling Naga and Lushai Hills on the north ^ m«"P""-
and south. The Hinduized M'anipuri of the plains, that is,
the politically dominant Meithis, as they call themselves, are
considered by George Watt to be "a mixed race between the
Kukies and the Nagas*." The Meithis are described as
possessing in general the facial characteristics of Mongolian
type, but with great diversity of feature. " It is not uncommon
to meet with girls with brownish-black hair, brown eyes, fair
complexions, straight noses and rosy cheeksl" In spite of
the veneer of civilisation acquired by the Meithis, the old order
of things has by no means passed away. "The maiba, the
doctor and priest of the animistic system, still finds a livelihood
despite the competition on the one hand of the Brahmin, and
on the. other of the hospital Assistant. Nevertheless the
maibas frequently adapt their methods to the altered circum-
stances in which they now find themselves, and realize that
the combination of croton oil and a charm is more efficacious
than the charm alonel"
" It is possible to discover at least four definite orders of
spiritual beings who have crystallized out from the amorphous
mass of animistic Deities. There are the Lam .
Lai, gods of the country-side who shade off into
Nature Gods controlling the rain, the primal necessity of an
agricultural community ; the Umang Lai or Deities of the
Forest Jungle ; t)\& Imung Lai, the Household Deities, Lords
of the lives, the births and the deaths of individuals, and there
are Tribal Ancestors, the ritual of whose worship is a strange
Kling or Tling, though the latter form would be preferable, as showing its origin
from Telinga.
> "The Aboriginal Tribes oiM-Zxiv^yxr," Joum. Anthr. Inst. 1887, p. 350.
2 R. Brown, Statistical Account oj Manipur, 1874.
3 T. C. Hodson, The Meitheis, 1908, p. 96.
1 82 Man: Past and Present [ch.
compound of magic and Nature-worship. Beyond these
Divine beings, who possess in some sort a majesty of orderly
decent behaviour, th6re are spirits of the mountain passes,,
spirits of the lakes and rivers, vampires and all the horrid
legion of witchcraft.... It is difficult to estimate the precise
effect of Hinduisrn on the civilisation of the people, for to the
outward observer they seem to have adopted only the festivals,
the outward ritual, the caste marks and the exclusiveness
of Hinduism, while all unmindful of its spirit and inward
essentials. Colonel McCulloch remarked nearly fifty years
ago that ' In fact their observances are only for appearance
sake, not the promptings of the heart\'"
It is noteworthy that the Manipuri are also devoted to the
game of polo, which R. C. Temple tells us they play much in
the same way as do the Balti and Ladakhi at the opposite
extremity of the Himalayas. Another remarkable link with
the " Far West " is the term Khel, which has
System^' travelled all the way from Persia or Parthia
through Afghanistan to Nagaland, where it
retains the same meaning of clan or section of a village, and
produces the same disintegrating effects as amongst the
Afghans. In Angamiland each village is split into two or
more Khels, and " it is no unusual state of affairs to find
Khel A of one village at war with Khel B of another, while
not at war with Khel B of its own village. The Khels are
often completely separated by great walls, the people on either
side living within a few yards of each other, yet having no
dealings whatever. Each Khel has its own headman, but
little respect is paid to the chief: each Khel maybe described
as a small republic ''." There appears to be no trace even of
■A.jirga, or council of elders, by which some measure of cohesion
is imparted to the Afghan Khel system.
From the Kuki-Nagas the transition is unbroken to the
large group of Chins of the Chindwin valley, named from them,
and thence northwards to the rude Kakhyens
{Kachins) about the Irawadi headstreams and
southwards to the numerous Karen tribes, who occupy the
ethnical parting-line between Burma and Siam all the way
down to Tenasserim.
For the first detailed account of the Chins we are indebted
' T. C. Hodson, The Meitheis, 1908, pp. 96-7.
^ G. Watt, loc. cit. p. 362.
vi] The Southern Mongols 183
to S. Carey and H. N. Tuck\ who accept B. Houghton's
theory that these tribes, as well as the Kuki-Lushai, "originally
lived in what we now know as Tibet, and are of one and the
same stock ; their form of government, method of cultivation,
manners and customs, beliefs and traditions, all point to one
origin." The term Chin, said to be a Burmese form of the
Chinese /zV/, " men;" is unknown to these aborigines, who call
themselves Yo in the north and Lai in the south, while in
Lower Burma they are Shu.
In truth there is no recognised collective name, and Shendu
{Sindhu) often so applied is proper only to the once formidable
Chittagong and Arakan frontier tribes, Klang-
klangs and Hakas, who with the SokU, Tashons, SiendaSJ^'
Siyirs, and others are now reduced and ad-
ministered from Falam. Each little group has its own tribal
name, and often one or two others, descriptive, abusive and so
on, given them by their neighbours. Thus the Nwengals
{Nun, river, ngah, across) are only that section of the Sokt^s
now settled on the farther or right bank of the Manipur, while
the Sokt^s themselves {Sok, to go down, td, men) are so called
because they migrated from Chin Nwe (9 miles from Tiddim),
cradle of the Chin race, down to Molbem, their earliest
settlement, which is the Mobingyi of the Burmese. So with
Siyin, the Burmese form of Sheyantd [she, alkali, yan, side, td,
men), the group who settled by the alkali springs east of Chin
Nwe, who are the Taut4 ("stout" or "sturdy" people) of the
Lushai and southern Chins. Let these few specimens suffice
as a slight object-lesson in the involved tribal nomenclature
which prevails, not only amongst the Chins, but everywhere
in the Tibeto-Indo-Chinese domain, from the north-western
Himalayas to Cape St James at the south-eastern extremity
of Farther India. I have myself collected nearly a thousand
such names of clans, septs, and fragmentary groups within
this domain, and am well aware that the list neither is, nor
ever can be, complete, the groups themselves often being
unstable quantities in a constant state of fluctuation.
Most of the Chin groups have popular legends to explain
either their origin or their present reduced state. Thus the
Tawyans, a branch of the Tashons, claim to be Torrs, that
is, the people of the Rawvan district, who were formedy
1 The Chin Hills, etc., Vol. I., Rangoon, 1896.
184 Man : Past and Present ' [ch.
very powerful, but were ruined by their insane efforts to
capture the sun. Building a sort of Jacob s
Le^ds. ladder, they mounted higher and higher; but
growing tired, quarrelled among themselves, and
one day, while half of them were clambering up the pole, the
other half below cut it down just as they were about to seize
the sun. So the Whenohs, another Tashon gi"Oup, said to be
Lusbais left behind in a district now forming part of Chinland,
tell a different tale. They say they came out of the rocks at
Sepi, which they think was their original home. They share,
however, this legend of their underground origin with the
Sokt^s and several other Chin tribes.
' Amid much diversity of speech and physique the Chins
present some common mental qualities, such as " slow speech.
Mental and serious manner, respect for birth and knowledge
Physical Quaii- of pedigrees, the duty of revenge, the taste for
^^- a treacherous method of warfare, the curse of
drink, the virtue of hospitality, the clannish* feeling, the vice
of avarice, the filthy state of the body, mutual distrust, im-
patience under control, the want of power of combination and of
continued effort, arrogance in victory, speedy discouragement
and panic in defeat^"
Physically they are a fine race, taller and stouter than the
surrounding lowlanders, men 5 feet 10 or 11 inches being
common enough among the independent southerners. There
are some "perfectly proportioned giants with a magnificent
development of muscle." Yet dwarfs are met with in some
, districts, and in others "the inhabitants are a wretched lot,
much afflicted with goitre, amongst whom may be' seen cretins
who crawl about on all fours with the pigs in the gutter. At
Dimlo, in the Sokte tract, leprosy has a firm hold on the
inhabitants."
Although often described as devil-worshippers, the Chins
really worship neither god nor devil. The northerners believe
there is no Supreme Being, and although the
S AfKife*^ southerners admit a " Kozin " or head god, to
whom they sacrifice, they do not worship him,
and never look to him for any grace or mercy, except that of
withholding the plagues and misfortunes which he is capable
of working on any in this world who offend him. Besides
' Op. at. p. 165.
vi] The Southern Mongols 185
Kozin, there are nats or spirits of the house, family, clan,
fields ; and others who dwell in particular places in the air,
the streams, the jungle, and the hills. Kindly nats are
ignored ; all others can . and will do harm unless propi-
tiated'.
The departed go to Mithikwa, "Dead Man's Village,"
which is divided into Pwethikwa, the pleasant abode, and
Sathikiva, the wretched abode of the unavenged. Good or
bad deeds do not affect the future of man, who must go
to Pwethikwa if he dies a natural or accidental death,
and to Sathikwa if killed, and there bide till avenged
by blood. Thus the vendetta receives a sort of religious
sanction, strengthened by the belief that the slain becomes
the slave of the slayer in the next world. " Should the
slayer himself be slain, then the first slain is the slave of the
second slain, who in turn is the slave of the man who killed
him."
Whether a man has been honest or dishonest in this
world is of no consequence in the next existence ; but, if he
has killed many people in this world, he has many slaves to
serve him in his future existence ; if he has killed many wild
animals, then he will start well-supplied with food, for all that
he kills on earth are his in the future existence. In the next
existence hunting and drinking will certainly be practised,
but whether fighting and raiding will be indulged in is
unknown.
Cholera and small-pox are spirits, and when cholera broke
out among the Chins who visited Rangoon in 1895 they
carried their dahs (knives) drawn to scare off the nat, and
spent the day hiding under bushes, so that the spirit should
not find them. Some even wanted to sacrifice a slave boy,
but were talked over to substitute some pariah dogs. They
firmly believe in the evil eye, and the Hakas think the Sujins
and others are all wizards, whose single glance can bewitch
them, and may cause Hzards to enter the body and devour
the entrails. A Chin once complained to Surgeon-Major
Newland that a nat had entered his stomach at the glance of
a Yahow, and he went to hospital quite prepared to die. But
an emetic brought him round, and he went off happy in the
belief that he had vomited the nat.
1 R. C. Temple, Art. "Burma," Hastings, Ency. Religion and Ethies, 1910.
1 86 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Ethnically connected with the Kuki-Naga groups are the
Kakhyens of the Irawadi headstreams, and the Karens, who
form numerous village communities about the
yens. gui-ma-Siamese borderland. The Kakhyens,
so called abusively by the Burmese, are the Cacobees of the
early writers', whose proper name is Singpho {Chingpaw), i.e.
'■' MenV' and whose curious semi-agglutinating speech, spoken
in an ascending tone, each sentence ending in a long-drawn t
in a higher key (Bigandet), shows affinities rather with the
Mishmi and other North Assamese tongues than with the
cultured Burmese. They form a very widespread family,
stretching from the Eastern Himalayas right into Yunnan,
and presenting two somewhat marked physical types : (i) the
. true Chingpaws, with short round head, low
Eiemente. forehead, prominent cheek-bones, slant eye,
broad nose, thick protruding lips, very dark
brown hair and eyes, dirty buff colour, mean height (about
5 ft. 5 or 6 in.) with disproportionately short legs ;, {2) a much
finer race, with regular Caucasic features, long oval face,
pointed chin, aquiline nose. One Kakhyen belle met with at
Bhamo, "with large lustrous eyes and fair skin, might almost
have passed for a European ^"
It is important to note this Caucasic element, which we
first meet here going eastwards from the Himalayas, but
which is found either separate or interspersed amongst the
Mongoloid populations all over the south-east Asiatic up-
lands from Tibet to Cochin-China, and passing thence into
Oceanica*.
The kinship of the Kakhyens with the still more
numerous Karens is now generally accepted, and it is no
^^ jj longer found necessary to bring the latter all
the way from Turkestan. They form a large
section, perhaps one-sixth, of the whole population of Burma,
^ Dalton, Ethnology of Bengal, p. 9.
2 Prince Henri d'Oridans writes "que les Singphos et les Katchins [Kakhyens]
ne font qu'un, que le premier mot est thai et le second birman." Du Tonkin aux
Indes, 1898, p. 311. This is how the ethnical confusion in these borderlands gets
perpetuated. Singpho is not Thai, i.e. Shan or Siamese, but a native word as
here explained.
' John Anderson, Mandalay to Momein, 1B76, p. 131.
* Three skulls discovered by M! Mansuy in a cave at Pho-Binh-Gia (Indo-
China) associated with Neolithic culture were markedly dolichocephalic, resembling
in some respects the Cro-Magnon race of the Reindeer period. Cf. R. Verneau,
LAnthropologie, xx. 1909.
^i] The Southern Mongols 187
and overflow' into the west Siamese borderlands. Their sub-
divisions are endless, though all may be reduced to three
mam branches, Sgaws, Pwos and Bwais, these last including
the somewhat distinct group of Karenni, or " Red Karens."
Although D. M. Smeaton calls the language "monosyllabic,"
it IS evidently agglutinating, of the normal sub- Himalayan
type'.
The Karens are a short, sturdy race, with straight black
and also brownish hair, black, and even hazel eyes, and light
or yellowish brown comple-xion, so that here
also a Caucasic strain may be suspected. ^^'
Despite the favourable pictures, of the missionaries, whose
propaganda has been singularly successful amongst these
aborigines, the Karens are not an amiable or .j. ^
particularly friendly people, but rather shy, «"»pe''^'"«" •
reticent and even surly, though trustworthy and loyal to those
chiefs and guides who have once gained their confidence. In
warfare they are treacherous rather than brave, and strangely
cruel even to little children. Their belief in a divine Creator
who has deserted them resembles that of the Kuki people,
and to the nats of the Kuki correspond the la of the Karens,
who are even more numerous, every mountain, stream, rapid,
crest, peak or other conspicuous object having its proper
indwelling la. There are also seven specially baneful spirits,
who have to be appeased by family offerings. Flourishing
" On the whole their belief in a personal god. Christian Mis-
their tradition as to the former possession of a ^'°"^-
'law,' and their expectation of a prophet have made them
susceptible to Christianity to a degree that is almost unique.
Of this splendid opportunity the American mission has taken
full advantage, educating, civilising, welding together, and
making a people out of the downtrodden Karen tribes, while
Christianizing theml"
In the Burmese division proper are comprised several
groups, presenting all grades of culture, from the sheer
savagery of the Mros, Kheongs, and others of _. _
1 A 1 -vr 11 • ii 1 The Burmese.
the Arakan Yoma range, and the agricultural
Mugs of the Arakan plains, to the dominant historical
Burmese nation of the Irawadi valley. Here also the termi-
nology is perplexing, and it may be well to explain that
' The Loyal Karens of Burma, \i&'] .
2 R. C. Temple, Academy, Jan. 29, 1887, p. 72.
1 88 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Yoma, applied by Logan collectively to all the Arakan Hill
Perplexing tribes, has no ethnic value at all, simply meaning
Tribal Nomen- a mountain range in Burmese\ Toung^gnM,
dature. Q^g Qf Mason s divisions of the Burmese family,
was merely a petty state founded by a younger branch of the
Royal House, and "has no more claim to rank as a separate
tribe than any other Burman town^" Tavoyers are merely
the people of the Tavoy district, Tenasserim, originally from
Arakan, and now speaking a Burmese dialect largely affected
by Siamese elements; Ttmgfkas, like Yoma, means •' High-
lander," and is even of wider application ; the Tipperahs,
Mrungs, Kumi, Mros, Khemis, and Khyengs are all Tungthas
of Burmese stock, and speak rude Burmese dialects.
The correlative of Tungthas is KhyungthaSy " River
People," that is, the Arakan Lowlanders comprising the
more civilised peoples about the middle and lower course of
the rivers, who are improperly called Mugs (MagAs) by the
Bengali, and whose real name is Rakhaingtha, i..e. people of
Rakhaing (Arakan). They are undoubtedly of the same
stock as the cultured Burmese, whose traditions point to
Arakan as the cradle of the race, and in whose chronicles the
Rakhaingtha are called M' ranmdkrik, "Great M'ranmas," or
" Elder Burmese." Both branches call themselves M'ranma,
M'rama (the correct form of Barma, Burma, but now usually
pronounced Myamma), probably from a root mro, myo, "man,"
though connected by Burnouf with Brahma, the Brahmanical
having preceded the Buddhist religion in this region. In any
case the M'rama may claim a respectable antiquity, being
already mentioned in the national records so early as the first
century of the new era, when the land "was said to be overrun
with fabulous monsters and other terrors, which are called to
this day by the superstitious natives, the five enemies. These
were a fierce tiger, an enormous boar, a flying dragon, a
prodigious man-eating bird, and a huge creeping pumpkin,
which threatened to entangle the whole co^ntry^"
The Burmese type has been not incorrectly described as
intermediate between the Chinese and the Malay, more
refined, or at least softer than either, of yellowish
brown or olive complexion, often showing very
' Forbes, Languages of Further India, p. 6l.
^ Ibid. p. 55-
^ G. W. Bird, Wanderings in Burma, 1897, p. 335.
Type.
VI ] The Southern Mongols 189
dark shades, full black and lank hair, no beard, small but
straight nose, weak extremities, pliant figure, and a mean
height \
Most Europeans speak well of the Burmese people, whose
bright genial temperament and extreme friendliness towards
strangers more than outweigh a natural indolence
which hurts nobody but themselves, and a little
arrogance or vanity inspired by the still remembered glories
of a nation that once ruled over a great part of Indo-China.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of Burmese society is
the almost democratic independence and equality of all classes
developed under an exceptionally severe Asiatic autocracy.
" They are perfectly republican in the freedom with which all
ranks mingle together and talk with one another, without any
marked distinction in regard to difference of rank or wealth ^"
Scott attributes this trait, I think rightly, to the
great leveller. Buddhism, the true spirit of Buddhfsm.
which has perhaps been better preserved in
Burma than in any other land.
The priesthood has not become the privileged and
oppressive class that has usurped all spiritual and temporal
functions in Tibet, for in Burma everybody is or has been a
priest for some period of his life. All enter the monasteries —
which are the national schools— not only for general instruc-
tion, but actually as members of the sacerdotal order. They
submit to the tonsure, take "minor orders," so to say, and
wear the yellow robe, if only for a few months or weeks or
days. But for the time being they must renounce "the world,
the flesh and the devil," and must play the mendicant, make
the round of the village at least once with the begging-bowl
hung round their neck in company with the regular members
of the community. They thus become initiated, and it
becomes no longer possible for the confraternity to impose
either on the rulers or on the ruled. " Teaching is all that
the brethren of the order do for the people. They have no
spiritual powers whatever. They simply become members of
a holy society that they may observe the precepts of the
1 The Burmese is the most mixed race in the province. "Originally Dravidians
of some sort, they seem to have received blood from various sources-Hindu,
Musalman, Chinese, Shan, Talaing, European and others.' W Crooke, "The
Stability of Caste and Tribal Groups in India," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Soc. XLiv.
1914, p. 279, quoting the Ethnographic Survey of India, 1906.
2 J. G. Scott, Burma, etc., 1886, p. 115.
190 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Master more perfectly, and all they do for the alms lavished
on them by the pious laity is to instruct the children in reading,
writing, and the rudiments of religion'."
R. Grant Brown denies the common report which "has
appeared in almost every work in which religion in Burma
is dealt with " that Burman Buddhism is superficial. " The
Burman Buddhist is at least as much influenced by his
religion as the average Christian. The monks are probably
as strict in their religious observances as any large religious
body in the world Most laymen, too, obey the prohibitions
against alcohol and the taking of life, though these run
counter both to strong human instincts and to animistic
practice ^"
Nor is the personal freedom here spoken of confined to
the men. In no other part of the world do the women enjoy
a larger measure of independent action than in
Woman ^^ Burma, with the result that they are acknow-
ledged to be far more virtuous, thrifty, and
intelligent than those of all the surrounding lands. Their
capacity for business and petty dealings is rivalled only by
their Gallic sisters ; and H. S. Hallett tells us that in every
town and village " you will see damsels squatted on the floor
of the verandah with diminutive, or sometimes large, stalls
in front of them, covered with vegetables, fruit, betel-nut,
cigars and other articles. However numerous they may be,
the price of everything is known to them ; and such is their
idea of probity, that pilfering is quite unknown amongst
them. They are entirely trusted' by their parents from their
earliest years ; even when they blossom into young women,
chaperons are never a necessity ; yet immorality is far less
customary amongst them, I am led to believe, than in any
country in Europe'."
This observer quotes Bishop Bigandet, a forty years'
resident amongst the natives, to the effect that " in Burmah
and Siam the doctrines of Buddhism have produced a striking,
and to the lover of true civilization a most interesting result
— the almost complete equality of the condition of the women
with that of the men. In these countries women are seen
1 op. cit. p. 118.
2 "The Taungby&n Festival, Bufma," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Soc. XLV. 1915,
P- 355-
3 Amongst the Shans, etc., 1885, p. 233.
vi] The Southern Mongols 191
circulating freely in the streets ; they preside at the comptoir,
and hold an almost exclusive possession of the bazaars.
Their social position is more elevated, in every respect, than
in the regions where Buddhism is not the predominating
creed. They may be said to be men's companions, and not
their slaves."
Burma is one of those regions where tattooing has
acquired the rank of a fine art. Indeed the intricate designs
and general pictorial effect produced by the
Burmese artists on the living body are rivalled * ooing.
only by those of Japan, New Zealand, and some other
Polynesian groups. Hallett, who states that "the Burmese,
the Shans, and certain Burmanized tribes are the only
peoples in the south of. Asia who are known to tattoo their
body," tells us that the elaborate operation is performed only
on the male sex, the whole person from waist to knees, and
amongst some Shan tribes from neck to foot, being covered
with heraldic figures of animals, with intervening traceries, so
that at a little distance the effect is that of a pair of dark-
blue breeches'. The pigments are lamp-black or vermilion,
and the pattern is usually first traced with a fine hair pencil
and then worked in by a series of punctures made by a long
pointed brass styled
East of Burma we enter the country of the Shans, one of
the most numerous and widespread peoples of Asia, who call
themselves Tai {Thai), "Noble" or "Free."
although slavery in various forms has from time peopils^'"^''^
immemorial been a social institution amongst all
the southern groups. Here again tribal and national ter-
minology is somewhat bewildering ; but it will help to notice
that Shan, said to be of Chinese originS is the collective
Burmese name, and therefore corresponds to Lao, the col-
lective Siamese name. These two terms are therefore rather
1 Cf. the Shans of Yunnan, who are nearly all "tatou^s, depuis la ceinture
jusqu'au genou, de dessins bleus si serr^s qu'ils paraissent former une vraie
culotte," Pr. Henri d'Orl^ans, Du Tonkin aux Indes, 1898, p. 83.
2 For recent literature on Burma and the Burmese consult besides the
Ethnographic Survey of India, 1906, and the Census Report of 191 1, J. G.
Scott, The Burman, 1896, and Burma,- 1906 ; A. Ireland, The Province of
Burma, 1907 ; H. Fielding Hall, The Soul of a People, 1898, and A People at
School, 1906. • s r.,
3 Probably for Shan-is^, Shan-yen, " highlanders " {Shan, mountain), Shan
itself being the same word as Siam, a form which comes to us through the
Portuguese- Siao.
192 Man : Past and Present [ch.-
political than ethnical, Shan denoting all the Tai peoples
formerly subject to Burma and now mostly British subjects,
Lao all the Tai peoples formerly subject to Siam, and now
(since 1896) mostly French subjects^ The Siamese group
them all in two divisions, the Laurpang-dun, " Black-paunch
Lao," so called because they clothe themselves as it were in
a dark skin-tight garb by the tattooing process ; and the
Lau-pang-kah, " White-paunch Lao," who do not tattoo.
The Burmese groups call themselves collectively Ngiou\
while the most general Chinese name is Pat {Pa-y). Prince
Henri d'Orl^ans, who is careful to point out that Pai is only
another name for Lao^ constantly met Pai groups all along
the route from Tonking to Assam, and the bulk of the
lowland population in Assam itself belongs originally'' to the
same family, though now mostly, assimilated to the Hindus
in speech, religion, and general culture. Assam in fact takes
Th Ah ^'^ name from the A horns, the "peerless," the
Khamti, and title first adopted by the Mau Shan chief,
Chinese Chukupha, who invaded the country from north-
*^' east Burma, and in 1228 a.d. founded the Ahom
dynasty, which was overthrown in 18 10 by the Burmese, who
were ejected in 1827 by the English °.
These Ahoms came from the Khamti !(Kampti) district
^ For the Laos see L. de Reinach, Le Laos, 1902, with bibliography.
2 Carl Bock, MS. note. This observer notes tliat many of the Ngiou have
been largely assimilated in type to the Burmese and in one place goes so far as to
assert that " the Ngiou are decidedly of the same race as the Burmese. I have
had opportunities of seeing hundreds of both countries, and of closely watching
their features and build. The Ngiou wear the hair in a topknot in the same way
as the Burmese, but they are easily distinguished by their tattooing, which is
much more elaborate" {Temples and Elephants, 1884, p. 297). Of course all
spring' from one primeval stock, but they now constitute distinct ethnical groups,
and, except about the borderlands, where blends may .be suspected, both the
physical and mental characters differ considerably. Bock's Ngiou is no doubt
the same name as Ngnio, which H. S. Hallett applies in one place to the Moss^
Shans north of Zimme, and elsewhere to the Burmese Shans collectively {A
Thousand Miles on an Elephant, 1890, pp. 158 and 358).
^ " Les Pai ne sent autres que des Laotiens " (Prince Henri, p. 42).
* One Shan group, the Deodhaings, still persist, and' occupy a few villages
near Sibsagar (S. E. Peal, Nature, June 19, 1884, p. 169). Dalton also mentions
the KamjangSj a Khamti (Tai) tribe in the Sadiya district, Assam {Ethnology of
Bengal, p. 6). '
^ Much unexp)ected light has been thrown upon the early history of these
Ahoms by E. Gait, who has discovered and described in the Journ. As. Soc.
Bengal, 1894, a large number oi puthis, or MSS. (28 in the Sibsagar district
alone), in the now almost extinct Ahom language, some of which give a continuous
history of the Ahom rajas from 568 to 1795 A.D. Most of the others appear to be
treatises on religious mysticism or divination, such as " a book on the calculation
of future events by examining the leg of a fowl " {ib.).
vi] The Southern Mongols 193
about the sources of the Irawadi, where Prince Henri was
surprised to find a civiHsed and lettered Buddhist people of
Pai (Shan) speech still enjoying political autonomy in the
dangerous proximity of le Idopard britannique. They call
themselves Padao, and it is curious to note that both Padam
and Assami are also tribal names amongst the neighbouring
Abor Hillmen. The French traveller was told that the
Padao, who claimed to be T'hais (Tai) like the Laotians \
were indigenous, and he describes the type as also Laotian —
straight eyes rather wide apart, nose broad at base, forehead
arched, superciliary arches prominent, thick lips, pointed chin,
olive colour, sligfhtly bronzed and darker than in the Lao
country ; the men ill-favoured, the young women with pleasant
features, and some with very beautiful eyes.
Passing into China we are still in the midst of Shan
peoples, whose range appears formerly to have extended up
to the right bank of the Yang-tse-Kiang, and shan Cradie-
whose cradle has been traced by de Lacouperie land and
to "the Kiu-lung mountains north of Sechuen Origins,
and south of Shensi in China proper^" This authority holds
that they constitute a chief element in the Chinese race itself,
which, as it spread southwards beyond the Yang-tse-Kiang,
amalgamated with the Shan aborigines, and thus became
profoundly modified both in type and speech, the present
Chinese language comprising over thirty per cent, of Shan
ingredients. Colquhoun also, during his explorations in the
southern provinces, found that " most of the aborigines,
although known to the Chinese by various nicknames, were
Shans ; and that their propinquity to the Chinese was slowly
changing their habits, manners, and dress, and gradually
incorporating them with that people^"
This process of fusion has been in progress for ages, not
only between the southern Chinese and the Shans, but also
between the Shans and the Caucasic aborigines, sjj^^ ^j
whom we first met amongst the Kakhyens, but Caucasic
who are found scattered mostly in small groups Contacu.
over all the uplands between Tibet and the Cochin-Chinese
coast range. The result is that the Shans are generally of
finer physique than either the kindred Siamese and Malays
1 Op. cil. p. 309.
^ A. R. Colquhoun, Amongst the Shans, 1885, Introduction, p. Iv.
3 Op. cit. p. 328.
K. IS
194 Man: Past and Present [ch.
in the south, or the more remotely connected Chinese in the
north. The colour, says Bock, "is much lighter than that
of the* Siamese," and " in facial expression the Laotians are
better-looking than the Malays, having good high foreheads,
and the men particularly having regular well-shaped noses,
with nostrils not so wide as those of their neighbours^" Still
more emphatic is the testimony of Kreitner of the Szechenyi
expedition, who tells us that the Burmese Shans have "a
nobler head than the Chinese ; the dark eyes are about
horizontal, the nose is straight, the whole expression ap-
proaches that of the Caucasic race I"
Notwithstanding their wide diffusion, interminglings with
other races, varied grades of culture, and lack of political
cohesion, the Tai-Shan groups acquire a certain
Toned Speech, ethnical and even national unity from their
generally uniform type, social usages, Buddhist
religion, and common Indo-Chinese speech. Amidst a chaos
of radically distinct idioms current amongst the surrounding
indigenous populations, they have everywhere preserved a
remarkable degree of linguistic uniformity, all speaking
various more or less divergent dialects of the same mother-
tongue. Excluding a large percentage of Sanskrit terms in-
troduced into the literary language by their Hin'du educators,
this radical mother- tongue comprises about i860 distinct
words or rather sounds, which have been reduced by phonetic
decay to so many monosyllables, each uttered with five tones,
the natural tone, two higher tones, and two lower ^ Each
term thus acquires five distinct meanings, and in fact
represents five different words, which were phonetically
distinct dissyllables, or even polysyllables in the primitive
language.
The same process of disintegration has been at work
throughout the whole of the Indo-Chinese linguistic area,
where all the leading tongues — Chinese, Annamese, Tai-
Shan, Burmese — belong to the same isolating form of speech,
which, as explained in Ethnology, Chap. IX,, is not a primitive
condition, but a later development, the outcome of profound
phonetic corruption.
' Temples and Elephants, p. 320.
^ "Der Gesichtsausdruck uberhaupt nahert sich der kaukasischen Race''
{Jm fernen Osten, p. 959).
' Low's Siamese Grammar, p. 14.
vi] The Southern Mongols 195
The remarkable uniformity of the Tai-Shan member of
this order of speech may be in part due to the conservative
effects of the literary standard. Probably over ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^
2000 years ago most of the Shan groups were Indo-Chinese
brought under Hindu influences by the Brah- Writing
man, and later by the Buddhist missionaries, ^3^*^""^-
who reduced their rude speech to written form, while intro-
ducing a large number of Sanskrit terms inseparable from
the new religious ideas. The writing systems, all based on
the square Pali form of the Devanagari syllabic characters,
were adapted to the phonetic requirements of the various
dialects, with the result that the Tai-Shan linguistic family
is encumbered with four different scripts. " The Western
Shans use one very like the Burmese ; the Siamese have
a character of their own, which is very like Pali ; the Shans
called Lii have another character of their own ; and to the
north of Siam the Lao Shans have another^"
These Shan alphabets of Hindu origin are supposed by
de Lacouperie to be connected with the writing systems which
have been credited to the Mossos, Lolos, and some other hill
peoples about the Chinese and Indo-Chinese borderlands.
At Lan-Chu in the Lolo country Prince Henri found that
MSS. were very numerous, and he was shown some very fine
specimens "enlumin^s." Here, he tells us, the script is still
in use, being employed jointly with Chinese in drawing up
legal documents connected with property. He was informed
that this Lolo script comprised 300 characters, read from top
to bottom and from left to right^ although other authorities
say from right to left.
Of the Lolo he gives no specimens', but reproduces two
1 R. G. Woodthorpe, " The Shans and Hill Tribes of the Mekong," in Journ.
Anthr. Inst. 1897, p. 16.
2 Op. cit. p. 55.
^ This omission, however, is partly supplied by T. de Lacouperie, who gives
us an account of a wonderful Lolo MS. on satin, red on one side, blue on the
other, containing nearly 5750 words written in black, " apparently with the
Chinese brush." The MS. was obtained by E. Colborne Baber from a Lolo chief,
forwarded to Europe in 1881, and described by de Lsicoupene, /oum. R. As. Soc.
Vol. XIV. Part I. "The writing runs in lines from top to bottom and from left
to right, as in Chinese" (p. i), and this authority regards it as the link that was
wanting to connect the various members of a widely diffused family radiating
from India (Harapa seal, Indo-Pah, Vatteluttu) to Malaysia (Batta, Rejang,
Lampong, Bugis, Makassar, Tagal), to Indo-China (Lao, Siamese, Lolo), Korea
and Japan, and also including the Siao-chuen Chinese system "in use a few
centuries B.C." (p. 5). It would be premature to say that all these connections
are established. '
13—2
196 Man : Past and Present ' [ch.
or three pages of a Mosso book with traijsliteration and
translation. Other specimens, but without explanation, were
already known through Gill and Desgodins, and th'eir
decipherment had exercised the ingenuity of several Chinese
scholars. Their failure to interpret them is now accounted
for by Prince Henri, who declares that, "strictly speaking
the Mossos have no writing system. The magicians keep
and still make copy-books full of hieroglyphics ; each page
is divided into little sections [cahiers) following horizontally
from left to right, in which are inscribed one or more some-
what rough figures, heads of animals, men, houses, conven-
tional signs representing the sky or lightning, and so on."
Some of the magicians expounded two of the books, which
contained invocations, beginning with the creation of the
world, ajid winding up with a catalogue of all the evils
threatening mortals, but to be averted by being pious, that
is, by making gifts to the magicians. The same ide^s are
always expressed by the same signs ; yet the magicians
declared that there was no alphabet, the hieroglyphs being
handed down bodily from one expert to another. Never-
theless Prince Henri looks on this as one of the first steps
in the history of writing; "originally many of the Chinese
characters were simply pictorial, and if the Mossos, instead
of being hemmed in, had. acquired a large expansion, their
sacred books might also perhaps have given birth to true
characters'."
Although now " hemmed in," the Mossos are a historical
and somewhat cultured people, belonging to the same group
. as the lungs (Njungs); who came from the
regions north-east of Tibet, and appeared on
the Chinese frontiers about 600 B.C. They are referred to
in the Chinese records of 796 a.d., when they were reduced
by the king of Nanchao. After various vicissitudes they
recognised the Chinese suzerainty in the fourteenth century,
and were finally subdued in the eighteenth. De Lacbuperie'
thinks they are probably of the same origin as the Lolos, the
two languages having much in common, and the names of
both being Chinese, while the Lolos and the Mossos call
themselves respectively JVossu (Nesu) and Nashi [Ndshri).
1 Of. cit. p. 193.
2 Beginnings of Writing in Central and Eastern Asia, ^passim. For the Lolos
see A. F. Legendre, "Les Lolos. Etude ethnologique et anthropologique,"
T'oung Pao II. Vol. x. 1909.
vi] The Southern Mongols 197
Everywhere amongst these border tribes are met groups
of aborigines, who present more or less regular features
which are described by various travellers as Aborigines of
"Caucasic" or "European." Thus the Kiu-tse, South China
who are the Khanungs of the English maps, ^^ Annam.
and are akin to the large Lu-tse family {Melam, Anu, Diasu,
etc.), reminded Prince Henri of some Europeans of his
acquaintance', and he speaks of the light colour, straight
nose and eyes, and generally fine type of the Yayo (Yao),
as the Chinese call them, but whose real name is Lin-tin-yii.
The same Caucasic element reappears in a pronounced
form amongst the indigenous populations of Tonking, to
whom A. Billet has devoted an instructive monograph". This
observer, who declares that these aborigines are quite distinct
both from the Chinese and the Annamese, groups them in
three main divisions — Tho, Nong, and Man^ — all collectively
called Moi, Muong, and Myong by the Annamese. The
Thos, who are the most numerous, are agriculturists, holding
all the upland valleys and thinning off towards the wooded
heights. They are tall compared to the Mongols (5 ft. 6
or 7 in.), lighter than the Annamese, round-headed, with oval
face, deep-set straight eyes, low cheek-bones, straight and
even slightly aquiline nose not depressed at root, and muscular
frames. They are a patient, industrious, and frugal people,
now mainly subject to Chinese and Annamese influences in
their social usages and religion. Very peculiar nevertheless
are some of their surviving customs, such as the feast of
youth, the pastime of swinging, and especially chess played
with living pieces, whose movements are directed by two
players. The language appears to be a Shan dialect, and
to this family the writer affiliates both the Thos and the
1 " Quelques-uns de ces Kiou-tsds me rappellent des Europdens que je connais.''
{Op. cit. p. 252).
2 Deux Ans dans le Haui-Tonkin, etc., Paris, 1896.
8 With regard to Man {Man-tse) it should be explained that in Chinese it
means "untameable worms," that is, wild or barbarous, and we are warned by
Desgodins that " il ne faut pas prendre ces mots comme des noms propres de
tribus" {Bui. Soc. Gdogr. XII. p. 410). In 1877 Capt. W. Gill visited a large
nation of Man-tse with 18 tribal divisions, reaching from West Yunnan to the
extreme north of Sechuen, a sort of federacy recognising a king, with Chinese
habits and dress, but speaking a language resembling Sanskrit (?). These were
the Sumu, or "White Man-tse," apparently the same as those visited in 1896 by
Mrs Bishop, and by her described as semi-independent, ruled by their own chiefs,
and in appearance "quite Caucasian, both men and women being very handsome,"
strict Buddhists, friendly and hospitable, and living in large stone houses (Letter
to Times, Aug. 18, 1896).
198 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Nongs. The latter are a much more mixed people, now
largely assimilated, to the Chinese, although the primitive
type still persists, especially amongst the women, as is so
often the case. A. Billet tells us that he often met Nong
women "with light and sometimes even red hair\"
It is extremely interesting to learn that the Mans came
traditionally "from a far-off western land where their fore-
Man-tse fathers were said to have lived in contact with
Origins and peoples of white blood thousands of years ago."
Affinities. This tradition, which would identify them with
the above-mentioned Man-tse, is supported by their physical
appearance^ong head, oval face, small cheek-bones, eyes
without the Mongol fold, skin not yellowish but rather
"browned by the sun," regular features — in nothing recalling
the traits of the yellow races.
Let us now turn to M, R. Verneau's comments on the
„ rich materials brought together by A. Billet,
Aborigines in in whom, " being not only a medical man,
South-East but also a graduate in the natural sciences,
absolute confidence may be placed ^"
"The Mins-Tien, the Mins-Coc, the Mans-Meo (Miao,
Miao-tse, or Mieu) present a pretty complete identity with
the Pan-y and the Pan-yao of South Kwang-si ; they are the
debris of a very ancient race, which with T. de Lacouperie
may be called pre-Chinese. This early race, which bore the
name of Pan-hu or Ngao, occupied Central China before the
arrival of the Chinese. According to M. d'Hervey de Saint-
Denys, the mountains and valleys of Kwei-chau where these
Miao-tse still survive were the cradle of the Pan-hu. In any
case it seems certain that the T'hai and the Man race came
from Central Asia, and that, from the anthropological stand-
point, they differ altogether from the Mongol group repre-
sented by the Chinese and the Annamese. The Man
especially presents striking affinities with the Aryan type."
Thus is again confirmed by the latest investigations, and
by the conclusions of some of the leading members of the
French school of anthropology, the view first advanced by me
in 1879, that peoples of the Caucasic (here called "Aryan ")
division had already spread to the utmost confines
1 "Des paysannes n,6ngs dont les cheveux ^taient blonds, quelquefois mgme
roux.'' Op. cit.
2 V Anthropologic, 1896, p. 602 sq.
vi] The Southern Mongols 199
of south-east Asia in remote prehistoric times, and had
in this region even preceded the first waves of Mongolic
migration radiating from their cradle-land on the Tibetan
plateau \
Reference was above made to the singular lack of political
cohesion at all times betrayed by the Tai-Shan peoples.
The only noteworthy exception is the Siamese
branch, which forms the bulk of the population JJ^f^'"^''
>in the Menam basin. In this highly favoured
region of vast hill-encircled alluvial plains of inexhaustible
fertility, traversed by numerous streams navigable for light
craft, and giving direct access to the inland waters of
Malaysia, the Southern Shans were able at an early date to
merge the primitive tribal groups in a great nationality, and
found a powerful empire, which at one time dominated most
of Indo-China and the Malay Peninsula.
Siam, alone of all the Shan states, even still maintains
a precarious independence, although now again reduced by
European aggression to little more than the natural limits of
the fluvial valley, which is usually regarded by the Southern
Shans as the home of their race. Yet they appear to have
been here preceded by the Caucasic Khmers (Cambojans),
whose advent is referred in the national chronicles to the
year 543 b.c. and who, according to the Hindu records, were
expelled about 443 a.d. It was through these Khmers, and
not directly from India, that the " Sayamas " received their
Hindu culture, and the Siamese annals, mingling fact with
fiction, refer to the miraculous birth of the national hero,
Phra-Ruang, who threw off the foreign yoke, declared the
people henceforth T'hai, " Freemen," invented the present
Siamese alphabet, and ordered the Khom (Cambojan) to be
reserved in future for copying the sacred writings.
The introduction of Buddhism is assigned to the year
638 A.D., one of the first authentic dates in the native records.
The ancient city of Labong had already been founded (575),
and other settlements now followed rapidly, always in the
direction of the south, according as the Shan race steadily
advanced towards the seaboard, driving before them or
mingling with Khmers, Lawas, Karens, and other aborigines,
1 " On the Relations of the Indo-Chinese and Inter-Oceanic Races and Lan-
guages." Paper read at the Meeting of the Brit. Association, Sheffield, 1879, and
printed in th&Journ. Anthr. Inst., February, 1880.
200 Man : Past and Present [ch.
some now extinct, some still surviving on the wooded uplands
and plateaux encircling- the Menam valley. Ayuthia, the
great centre of national life in later times, dates only from the
year 1350, when the empire had received its greatest expan-
sion, comprising the whole of Camboja, Pegu, Tenasserim,
and the Malay Peninsula, and extending its conquering arms
across the inland waters as far as Java\ Then followed the
disastrous wars with Burma, which twice captured and finally
destroyed Ayuthia (1767), now a picturesque elephant-park
visited by tourists from the present capital, Bangkok, founded
in 1772 a little lower down the Menam.
But the elements of decay existed from the first in the
institution of slavery or serfdom, which was not restricted to
a particular class, as in other lands, but, before
STOtem^ "^ the modern reforms, extended in principle to
all the kings' subjects in mockery declared
" Freemen " by the founders of the monarchy. This, however,
rnay be regarded as perhaps little more than a legal fiction,
for at all times class distinctions were really recognised,
comprising the members of the royal family — a somewhat
numerous group — the nobles named by the king, the leks or
vassals, and the people, these latter being again subdivided
into three sections, those liable to taxation, those subject to
forced labour, and the slaves proper. But so little developed
was the sentiment of personal dignity and freedom, that
anybody from the highest noble to the humblest citizen might
at any moment lapse into th'e lowest category. Like most
Mongoloid peoples, the Siamese are incurable gamblers, and
formerly it was an everyday occurrence for a freeman to stake
all his goods and chattels, wives, children, and self, on the
hazard of the die.
Yet the women, like their Burmese sisters, have always
held a somewhat honourable social position, being free to
walk abroad, go shopping, visit their friends,
Wbman.^ see the sights, and take part in the frequent
public feastings without restriction. Those,
however, who brought no dower and had to be purchased,
' In the Javanese . annals the invaders are called "Cambojans," but at this
time (about 1340) Camboja had already been reduced, and the Siamese conquerors
had brought back from its renowned capital, Angkor Wat, over 90,000 captives.
These were largely employed in the wars of the period, which were thus attributed
to Camboja instead of to Siam by foreign peoples ignorant of the changed relatiotis
in Indo-China.
^i] The Southern Mongols 201
might again be sold at any time, and many thus constantly
fell from the dignity of matrons to the position of the merest
drudges without rights or privileges of any kind. These
strange relations were endurable, thanks to the genial nature
of the national temperament, by which the hard lot of the
thralls was softened, and a little light allowed to penetrate
into the darkest corners ^ of the social system. The open slave-
markets, which in the vassal Lao states fostered systematic
raiding-expeditions amongst the unreduced aborigines, were
abolished in 1873, and since 1890 all born in slavery are free
on reaching their 21st year.
Siamese Buddhism is a slightly modified form of that
prevailing in Ceylon, although stricdy practised but by few.
There are two classes or "sects," the reformers
who attach more importance to the observance " '^'"'
of the canon law than to meditation, and the old believers,
some devoted to a contemplative life, others to the study of
the sunless wilderness of Buddhist writings. But, beneath it
all, spirit or devil-worship is still rife, and in many districts
pure animism is practically the only religion. Even temples
and shrines have been raised to the countless gods of land
and water, woods, mountains, villages and households. To
these gods are credited all sorts of calamities, and to prevent
them from getting into the bodies of the dead the latter are
brought out, not through door or window, but through
a breach in the wall, which is afterwards carefully built up.
Similar ideas prevail amongst many other peoples, both at
higher and lower levels of culture, for nothing is more
ineradicable than such popular beliefs associated with the
relations presumed to exist between the present and the after
life.
Incredible sums are yearly lavished in offerings to the
spirits, which give rise to an endless round of feasts and
' How very dark some of these corners can be may be seen from the sad
picture of maladministration, vice, and corruption still prevalent so late as 1890,
given by Hallett in A Thousand Miles on an Elephant, Ch. xxxv. ; and even still
later by H. Warington Smyth in Five Years in Siam, from 1891 to i8g6 (1898).
This observer credits the Siamese with an undeveloped sense of right and wrong,
so that they are good only by accident. " To do a thing because it is right is
beyond them; to abstain from a thing because it is against their good name, or
involves serious consequences, is possibly within the power of a few ; the question
of right and wrong does not enter the calculation." But he thinks they may
possess a high degree of intelligence, and mentions the case' of a peasant, who
from an atlas had taught himself geography and politics. P. A. Thompson, Lotus
Land, 1906, gives an account of the country and people of Southern Siam.
202 Man: Past and Present [ch.
revels, and also in support of the numerous Buddhist temples,
convents, and their inmates. The treasures accumulated in
the "royal cloisters" and other shrines represent a great part
of the national savings — investments for the other world,
among which are said to be numerous gold statues glittering
with rubies, sapphires, and other priceless gems. But in
these matters the taste of the talapoins^, as the priests were
formerly called, is somewhat catholic, including pictures of
reviews and battle-scenes from the European illustrated
papers, and sometimes even statues of Napoleon set up by
the side of Buddha.
So numerous, absurd, and exacting are the rules of the
monastic communities that, but for the aid of the temple
servants and novices, existence would be im-
and"pessi'nUsm. possible. A list of such puerilities occupies
several pages in A. R. Colquhoun's work
Amongst the Shans (219-231), and from these we learn that
the monks must not dig the ground, so that they can neither
plant nor sow ; must not boil rice, as it would kill the germ ;
eat corn for the same reason ; climb trees lest a branch get
broken ; kindle a flame, as it destroys the fuel ; put out
a flame, as that also would extinguish life ; forge iron, as
sparks would fly out and perish ; swing their arms in walking ;
wink in speaking ; buy or sell ; stretch the legs when sitting ;
breed poultry, pigs, or other animals ; mount an elephant or
palanquin ; wear red, black, green, or white garments ; mourn
for the dead, etc., etc. In a word all might be summed up
by a general injunction neither to do anything, nor not to do
anything, and then despair of attaining Nirvana ; for it would
be impossible to conceive of any more pessimistic system in
theoryl Practically it is otherwise, and in point of fact the
utmost religious indifference prevails amongst all classes.
Within the Mongolic division it would be difficult to
imagine any more striking contrast than that presented by
the gentle, kindly, and on the whole not ill-favoured Siamese,
and their hard-featured, hard-hearted, and grasping Annamese
' Probably a corruption of talapat, the name of the palm-tree which yields the
fan-leaf constantly used by the monks.
^ " In conversation with the monks M'Gilvary was told that it would most
likely be countless ages before they would attain the much wished for state of
Nirvana, and that bne transgression at any time might relegate them to the lowest
hell to begin again their melancholy pilgrimage " (Hallett, A Thousand Miles on
an Elephant, p. 337).
vi] The Southern Mongols 203
neighbours. Let anyone, who may fancy there is little or
nothing in blood, pass rapidly from the bright, ^^ Annamese.
genial — if somewhat listless and corrupt — social
life of Bangkok to the dry, uncongenial moral atmosphere of
Ha-noi or Saigon, arid he will be apt to modify his views on
that point. Few observers have a good word to say for the
Tonkingese, the Cochin-Chinese, or any other branch of the
Annamese family, and some even of the least prejudiced are
so outspoken that we must needs infer there is good ground for
their severe strictures on these strange, uncouth materialists.
Buddhists of course they are nominally ; but of the moral
sense they have little, unless it be (amongst the lettered
classes) a pale reflection of the pale Chinese ethical code.
The whole region in fact is a sort of attenuated China, to
which it owes its arts and industries, its letters, moral systems,
general culture, and even a large part of its inhabitants.
Giao-shi {Kiao-shi), the name of the aborigines, said to mean
" Bifurcated," or " Cross-toes V in reference to ^ . .
the wide space between the great toe and the .
next, occurs in the legendary Chinese records so far back as
2285 B.C., since which period the two countries are supposed
to have maintained almost uninterrupted relations, whether
friendly or hostile, down to the present day. At first the
Giao-shi were confined to the northern parts of Lu-kiang, the
present Tonking, all the rest of the coastlands being held by
the powerful Champa (Tsiampa) people, whose affinities are
with the Oceanic populations. But in 218 B.C., Lu-kiang
having been reduced and incorporated with China proper,
a large number of Chinese emigrants settled in the country,
and gradually merged with the Giao-shi in a single nationality,
whose twofold descent is still reflected in the Annamese
physical and mental characters.
This term Annam'', however, did not come into use till the
seventh century, -when it was officially applied to the frontier
river between China and Tonking, and afterwards extended
to the whole of Tonking and Cochin-China. Tonking itself,
meaning the " Eastern Court'," was originally the name only
1 " Le gros orteil est tr^s d^velopp^ et dearth des autres doigts du pied. A ce
caract^re distinctif, que Ton retrouve encore aujourd'hui chez les indigenes de
race pure, on pent reconnaitre facilement qiie les Giao-chi sont les anc^tres des
Annamites" {La Cochinchine franqaise en 1878, p. 231). See also a note on the
subject by C. F. Tremlett mjourn. Anthr. Inst. 1879, P- 460.
2 Properly An-nan, a modified form of ngan-nan, " Southern Peace."
3 Cf. Nan-king, Pe-king, " Southern " and " Northern " Courts (Capitals).
204 Man : Past and Present [ch.
of the city of Ha-noi when it was a royal residence, but was
later extended to the whole of the northern kingdom, whose
true name is Yuek-nan. To this corresponded the southern
Kwe-Chen-Ching, " Kingdom of Chen-Ching," which was so
named in the ninth century from its capital Chen-Ching, and
of which our Cochin-China appears to be a corrupt form.
But, amid all this troublesome- political nomenclature, the
dominant Annamese nation has faithfully preserved its homo-
geneous character, spreading, like the Siamese Shans, steadily
southwards, and gradually absorbing the whole of the Champa
domain to the southern extremity of the peninsula, as well as
a large part of the ancient kingdom of Camboja about the
Mekhong delta. They thus form at present the almost
exclusive ethnical element throughout all the lowland and
cultivated parts of Tonking, upper and lower Cochin-China
and south Camboja, with a total population in 1898 of about
twenty millions.
The Annamese are described in a serni-official report' as
characterised by a, high broad forehead, high cheek-bones,
Physical and small crushed nose, rather thick lips, black hair.
Mental scant beard, mean height, coppery complexion,
Characters. deceitful {rusde) expression, and rude or insolent
bearing. The head is round (index 83 to 84) and the features
are in general flat and coarse, while to an ungainly exterior
corresponds a harsh unsympathetic temperament. The Abb6
Gagelin, who lived years in their midst, frankly declares that
they are at once arrogant and dishonest, and dead to all the
finer feelings of human nature, so that after years of absence
the nearest akin will meet without any outward sign of
pleasure or affection. Others go further, and J. G. Scott
summed it all up by declaring that " the fewer Annamese
there are, the less taint there is on the human race." No
doubt Lord Curzon gives a more favourable picture, but this
traveller spent only a short time in the country', and even he
allows that they are " tricky and deceitful, disposed to thieve
when they get the chance, mendacious, and incurable
gamblers^"
Yet they have one redeeming quality, an intense love of
personal freedom, strangely contrasting with the almost abject
slavish spirit of the Siamese. The feeling extends to all
' La Gazette Gdographique, March 12, 1885.
2 Gedgr. Journ., Sept. 1893, p. 194.
vi] The Southern Mongols 205
classes, so that servitude is held in abhorrence, and, as in
Burma, a democratic sense of equality permeates the social
system \ Hence, although the State has always been an
absolute monarchy, each separate commune constitutes a
veritable little oligarchic commonwealth. This has come as
a great surprise to the present French administrators of the
country, who frankly declare that they cannot hope to improve
the social or political position of the people by substituting
European for native laws and usages. The Annamese have
in fact little to learn from western social institutions.
Their language, spoken everywhere with remarkable
uniformity, is of the normal Indo-Chinese isolating type,
possessing six tones, three high, and three low,
and written in ideographic characters based on Lettfrs^^^*"
the Chinese, but with numerous modifications
and additions. But, although these are ill-suited for the pur-
pose, the attempt made by the early Portuguese missionaries
to substitute the so-called quoc-ngu, or Roman phonetic system,
has been defeated by the conservative spirit of the people.
Primary instruction has long been widely diffused, and almost
everybody can read and write as many of the numerous
hieroglyphs as are needed for the ordinary purpose of daily
intercourse. Every village has its free school, and a higher
range of studies is encouraged by the public examinations to
which, as in China, all candidates for government appointments
are subjected. Under such a scheme surprising results might
be achieved, were the course of studies not based exclusively
on the empty formulas of Chinese classical literature. The
subjects taught are for the most part puerile, and true science
is replaced by the dry moral precepts of Confucius. One
result amongst the educated classes is a scoffing, sceptical
spirit, free from all religious prejudice, and unhampered by
theological creeds or dogmas, combined with a lofty moral
tone, not always however in harmony with daily conduct.
Even more than in China, the family is the true base of
the social system, the head of the household being not only
the high-priest of the ancestral cult, but also .
a kind of patriarch enjoying almost absolute systerar
control over his children. In this respect the
1 "Parmi les citoyens r^gne la plus parfaite ^galit^. Point d'esclavage, la
servitude est en horreur. Aussi tout homme peut-il aspirer aux emplois, se
plaindre aux memes tribunaux que son adversaire " {pp. cit. p. 6).
2o6 Man : Past and Present [ch.
relations are somewhat one-sided, the father having no
recognised obligations towards his ofifspring, while these are
expected to show him perfect obedience in life and veneration
after .death. Besides this worship of ancestry and the Con-
fucian ethical philosophy, a national form of Buddhism is
prevalent. Some even profess all three of these so-called
" religions," beneath which there still survive many of the
primitive superstitions associated with a not yet extinct belief
in spirits and the supernatural power of magicians. While
the Buddhist -temples are neglected and the few bonzes^
despised, offerings are still made to the genii of agriculture,
of the waters, the tiger, the dolphin, peace, war, diseases, and
so forth, whose rude statues in the form of dragons or other
fabulous monsters are even set up in the pagodas. Since the
early part of the seventeenth century Roman Catholic
missionaries have laboured with considerable success in this
unpromising field, where the congregations were estimated in
1898 at about 900,000.
From Annam the ethnical transition is easy to China^ and
its teeming multitudes, regarding whose origins, racial and
cultural, two opposite views at present hold the
field. What may be called the old, but by no
means the obsolete school, regards the Chinese populations
as the direct descendants of the aborigines who during the
Stone Ages entered the Hoang-ho valley probably from the
Tibetan plateau, there developed their peculiar culture inde-
pendently of foreign influences, and thence spread gradually
southwards to the whole of China proper, extirpating,
absorbing, or driving to the encircling western and southern
uplands the ruder aborigines of the Yang-tse-Kiang and Si^
Kiang basins.
1 From bonzo, a Portuguese corruption of the Japanese busso, a devout person,
applied first to the Buddhist priests of Japan, and then extended to those of China
and neighbouring lands.
2 This name, probably the Chinese_/V«, men, people, already occurs in Sanskrit
writings in its present form : "^TT, China, whence the Hindi (>*»•, CMn, and
the Arabo-Persian (J*^ , Sin, which gives the classical Sinae. The most common
national name is Chung-kue, " middle kingdom " (presumably the centre of the
universe), whence Chung-kue-Jin, the Chinese people. Some have referred China
to the Chin [Tsin) dynasty (909 B.C.), while Marco Polo's A'a/aza (Russian Kitai)
is the Khata (North China) of the Mongol period, from the Manchu K'i-tan,
founders of the Liio dynasty, which was overthrown 1115A.D. by the Nii-Chan
Tatars. Ptolemy's Thinae is rightly regarded by Edkins as the same word as
Sinae, the substitution of t for J being normal in Annam, whence this form may
have reached the west through the southern seaport of Kattigara.
vi] The Southern Mongols 207
In direct opposition- to this view the new school, championed
especially by T. de Lacouperie\ holds that the present in-
habitants of China are late intruders from south-
western Asia, and that they arrived not as rude Seo^^."^'""^^"
aborigines, but as a cultured people with a
considerable knowledge of letters, science, and the arts, all
of which they acquired either directly or indirectly from the
civilised Akkado-Sumerian inhabitants of Babylonia.
Not merely analogies and resemblances, but what are
called actual identities, are pointed out between the two
cultures, and even between the two languages, sufficient to
establish a common origin of both, Mesopotamia being the
fountain-head, whence the stream flowed by channels not
clearly defined to the Hoang-ho valley. Thus the Chin, yu,
originally go, is equated with Akkad gu, to speak ; ye with ge,
night, and so on. Then the astronomic and chronologic
systems are compared, Berossus and the cuneiform tablets
dividing the prehistoric Akkad epoch into 10 periods of
10 kings, lasting 120 Sari, or 432,000 years, while the corre-
sponding Chinese astronomic myth also comprises 10 kings
(or dynasties) covering the same period of 432,000 years.
The astronomic system credited to the emperor Yao (2000 B.C.)
similarly corresponds with the Akkadian, both- having the
same five planets with names of like meaning, and a year of
12 months and 30 days, with the same cycle of intercalated
days, while several of the now obsolete names of the Chinese
months answer to those of the Babylonians. "Even the name
of the first Chinese emperor who built an observatory,
Nai-Kwang-ti, somewhat resembles that of the Elamite king,
Kuder-na-hangti, who conquered Chaldaea about 2280 b.c.
All this can hardly be explained away.as a mere series of
coincidences ; nevertheless neither Sinologues nor Akkadists
are quite convinced, and it is obvious that many of. the
resemblances may be due to trade or intercourse both by the
old overland caravan routes, and by the seaborne traffic from
Eridu at the 'head of the -Persian Gulf, which was a flourishing
emporium 4000 or 5000 years ago.
But, despite some verbal analogies, an almost insur-
mountable difficulty is presented by the Akkadian and Chinese
m
1 Western Origin of the Early Chinese Civilization, from 2300 B.C. to 200 A. D.,
or Chapters on the Elements Derived from the Old Civilizations of West Asia
in the Formation of the Ancient Chinese Culture, London, 1894.
2o8 Man : Past and Present [ch.
languages, which no philological ingenuity can bring into
such relation as is required by the hypothesis.. T. G. Pinches
has shown that at a very early period, say some 5000 years
ago, Akkadian already consisted, '.' for the greater part, of
words of one syllable," and was " greatly affected by phonetic
decay, the result being that an enormous number of homo-
phones were developed out of roots originally quite distinct'."
This Akkadian scholar sends me a number of instances, such
as tu for tura, to enter ; ti for tila, to live ; du for dumu, son ;
du for dugu, good, as in Eridu, for Gurudugu, " the good
city," addirig that " the list could be extended indefinitely ^"
But de Lacouperie's Bak tribes, that is, the first immigrants
from south-west Asia, are not supposed to have reached
North China till about 2500 or 3000 B.C., at which time the
Chinese language was still in the untoned agglutinating state,
with but few monosyllabic homophones, and consequently
quite distinct from the Akkadian, as known to us from the
Assyrian syllabaries, bilingual lists, and earlier tablets from
Nippur or.Lagash.
Hence the linguistic argument seems to fail completely,
while the Babylonian origin of the Chinese writing system, or
rather, the derivation of Chinese and Sumerian from some
common parent in Central Asia, awaits further evidence.
Many of the Chinese and Akkadian "line forms" collated by
C. J. BalP are so simple and, one might say, obvious, that
they seem to prove nothing. They may be compared with
such infantile utterances as pa, ma, da, ta, occurring in half
the languages of the world, without proving a connection or
affinity between any of them. But even were the common
origin of the two scripts established, it would prove nothing
as to the common origin of the two peoples, but only show
cultural irifluences, which need not be denied.
But if Chinese origins cannot be clearly traced back to
Babylonia, Chinese culture may still, in a sense, claim to be
Chinese Culture ^^^ oldest in the world, inasmuch as it has.
and Social "persisted with little change from its rise some
System. 4500 years ago down to present times- All
other early civilisations — Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Assyrian,.
' "Observations upon the Languages of the Early Inhabitants of Mesopo- ■
tamia," in Journ. R. As. Soc. xvi. Part 2.
2 MS. note, May 7, 1896.
^ C. J. Ball, Chinese and Sumerian, 1913.
vi] ' The Southern Mongols 209
Persian, Hellenic — have perished, or live only in their monu-
ments, traditions, oral or written records. But the Chinese,
despite repeated political and social convulsions, is still as
deeply rooted in the past as ever, showing no break of
continuity from the dim echoes of remote prehistoric ages
down to the last revolution, and the establishment of the
Republic. These things touch the surface only of the great
ocean of Chinese humanity, which is held together, not
by any general spirit of national sentiment (all sentiment, is
alien from the Chinese temperament), nor by any community
of speech, for many of the provincial dialects differ profoundly
from each other, but by a prodigious power of intertia, which
has hitherto resisted all attempts at change either by pressure
from without, or by spontaneous impulse from within.
What they were thousands of years ago, the Chinese still
are, a frugal, peace-loving, hard-working people, occupied
mainly with tillage and trade, cultivating few arts beyond
weaving, porcelain and metal work, but with a widely diffused
knowledge of letters, and a writing system which
still remains at the cumbrous ideographic stage, Eariy^R^ords
needing as many different symbols as there are
distinct concepts to be expressed. Yet the system has one
advantage, enabling those who speak mutually unintelligible
idioms to converse together, using the pencil instead of the
tongue. For this very reason the attempts made centuries
ago by the government to substitute a phonetic script had to
be abandoned. It was found that imperial edicts and other
documents so written could not be understood by the popu-
lations speaking dialects different from the literary standard,
whereas the hieroglyphs, like our ciphers i, 2, 3..., could be
read by all educated persons of whatever allied forrn of speecL
Originally the Chinese system, whether developed on the
spot or derived from Akkadian or any other foreign source,
was of course pictographic or ideographic, and it is commonly
supposed to have remained at that stage ever since, the only
material changes being of a graphic nature. The pictographs
were conventionalised and reduced to their present form, but
still remained ideograms supplemented by a limited number
of phonetic determinants. But de Lacouperie has shown that
this view is a mistake, and that the evolution from the
pictograph to the phonetic symbol had been practically conl-
pleted in China many centuries before the new era. The
K. 14
210 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Ku-wen style current before the ninth century B.C. " was
really the phonetic expression of speech \" But for the
reason stated it had to be discontinued, and a return made to
the earlier ideographic style. The change was effected
about 820 B.C. by She Chou, minister of the Emperor Siien
Wang, who introduced the Ta-chuen style in which " he tried
to speak to the eye and no longer to the ear," that is, he
reverted to the earlier ideographic process, which has since
prevailed. It was simplified about 227 B.C. (Siao Chuen
style), and after some other modifications the present cali-
graphic form {Kiai Shu) was introduced by Wang Hi in
350 A.D. Thus one consequence of the "Expansion of China"
was a reversion to barbarism, in respect at least of the national
graphic system, by which Chinese thought and literature have
been hampered for nearly 3000 years.
Written records, though at first mainly of a mythical
character, date from about 3000 b.c.^ Reference is made in
the early documents to the rude and savage times, which in
China as elsewhere certainly preceded the historic period.
Three different prehistoric ages are even discriminated, and
tradition relates how Fu-hi introduced wooden, Thin-ming
stone, and Shi-yu metal implements'. Later, when their
origin and use were forgotten, the jade axes, like those from
Yunnan, were looked on as bolts hurled to the earth by the
god of thunder, while the arrow-heads, supposed to be also of
' History of the Archaic Chinese Writing and Texts, 1882, p. 5.
' The first actual date given is that of Tai Hao (Fu-hi), 2953 B.C., but this
ruler belongs to the fabulous period, and is stated to have reigned 115 years.
The first certain date would appear to be that of Yau, first of the Chinese sages
and reformer of the calendar (2357 B.C.). The date 2254 B.C. for Confucius's
model king Shun seems also established. But of course all this is modern history
compared with the now determined Babylonian and Egyptian records.
3 Amongst the metals reference is made to iron so early as the time of the
Emperor Ta Yii (2200 B.C.), when it is mentioned as an article of tribute in the
Shu-King. F. Hirth, who states this fact, adds that during the same period,
if not even earlier, iron was. already a flourishing industry in the Liang district
(Paper on the " History of Chinese Culture," Munich Anthropological Society,
April, 1898). At the discussion which followed the reading of this paper Monte-
lius argued that iron was unknown in Western Asia and Egypt betoie ijoo B.C.,
although the point was contested by Hommel, who quoted a word for iron in
the earliest Egyptian texts. Montelius, however, explained that terms originally
meaning " ore " or " metal " were afterwards used for " iron." Such was certainly
the case with the Gk. x"^*o^i at first " copper," then metal in general, and used
still later for a-idripos, "iron"; hence x"^'=™s=coppersmith, blacksmith, and even
goldsmith. So also with the Lat. aes (Sanskrit ayas, akm to aurora, with simple
idea of brightness), used first especially for copper {aes cyprium, cuprum), and
then for bronze (Lewis and Short). For Hirth's later views see his Ancient
History of China, 1908 (from the fabulous ages to 221 B.C.).
vi] The Southern Mongols 211
divine origin, were endowed in the popular fancy with special
virtues and even regarded as emblems of sovereignty. Thus
may perhaps be explained the curious fact that in early times,
before the twelfth century b.c.j tribute in flint weapons was
paid to the imperial government by some of the reduced wild
tribes of the western uplands.
These men of the Stone and Metal Ages are. no doubt
still largely represented, not only amongst the rude hill tribes
of the southern and western borderlands, but
also amongst the settled and cultured lowlanders Migrations
of the great fluvial valleys. The " Hundred
Families," as the first immigrants called themselves, came
traditionally from the north-western regions beyond the
Hoang-ho. According to the Yu-kung their original home
lay in the south-western part of Eastern Turkestan, whence
they first migrated east to the oases north of the Nan-Shan
range, and then, in the fourth millennium before the new
era, to the fertile valleys of the Hoang-ho and its Hoei-ho
tributary. Thence they spread slowly along the other great
river valleys, partly expelling, partly intermingling with the
aborigines, but so late as the seventh century B.C.
were still mainly confined to the region between ^^^°^^^^,
the Pei-ho and the lower Yang-tse-Kiang. Even
here several indigenous groups, such as the Hoei, whose name
survives in that of the Hoei river, and the Lai of the
Shantong Peninsula, long held their ground, but all were
ultimately absorbed or assimilated throughout the northern
lands as far south as the left bank of the Yang-tse-Kiang.
Beyond this river many were also merged in the dominant
people continually advancing southwards ; but others, collec-
tively or vaguely known as Si-fans, Mans, Miao- survivals—
tse, Pai, Tho, Y-jen', Lolo, etc., were driven to Hok-io;
the south-western highlands which they still ^^^^'^ Pun-ti.
occupy. Even some of the populations in the settled districts,
such as the Hok-los^, and Hakkas^, of Kwang-tung, and the
1 This term Y-jen ( Yi-jen\ meaning much the same as Man, Man-tse, savage,
rude, untameable, has acquired a sort of diplomatic distinction. In the treaty of
Tien-tsin (1858) it was stipulated that it should no longer, as heretofore, be applied
in official documents to the English or to any subjects of the Queen.
2 See J. Edkms, Chinees Place in Philology, p. 117. The Hok-los were
originally from Fo-kien, whence their alternative name, Fo-lo. The lo appears
to be the same word as in the reduplicated Lo-lo, meaning something like the
Greek and Latin Bar-bar, stammerers, rude, uncultured.
^ The Hakkas, i.e. "strangers," speak a well-marked dialect current on the
14 — 2
2 1 2 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Pun-ti^ of the Canton district, are scarcely yet thoroughly
assimilated. They differ greatly in temperament, usages,
appearance, and speech from the typical Chinese of the
Central and Northern provinces, whom in fact they look
upon as " foreigners," and with whom they hold intercourse
through " Pidgin EnglishV' the lingua franca of the Chinese
seaboard'.
Nevertheless a general homogeneoiis character is imparted
to the whole people by their common political, social, and
religious institutions, and by that principle of convergence in
virtue of which different ethnical groups, thrown together in
the same area and brought under a single administration, tend
to merge in a uniform new national type. This general
uniformity is conspicuous especially in the religious ideas
which, except in the sceptical lettered circles, everywhere
underlie the three recognised national religions, or " State
Churches," as they might almost be called : ju-kiao, Con-
fucianism ; tao-'kiao, Taoism ; and fo-kiao. Buddhism (Fo
= Buddha). The first, confined mainly to the educated upper
classes, is not so much a religion as a philosophic system,
a frigid ethical code based on the mora} and matter-of-fact
_ , . . teaching's of Confucius*. Confucius was essen-
ConfiKianisra. • n • i i i- • i r i i
tiaJly a social and pohtical reformer, who taught .
by example and precept ; the main iiiducement to virtue being,
not rewards or penalties in the after-life, but well- or ill-being
in the present. His system is summed up in the expression
"worldly wisdom," as embodied in such popular sayings as:
A friend is hardly made in a year, but unmade in a moment ;
When safe remember danger, in peace forget not war ; Filial
father, filial son, unfilial father, unfilial son ; In washing up,
plates and dishes may get broken ; Don't do what you would
uplands between Kwamg-timg, Kiang-si, and Fo-kieni J. Dyer Ball, Easy Lessons
in the Hakka Dialect, 1884. ,
^ Numerous in the western parts of Kwang-tung and in the Canton district.
J. Dyer Ball, Cantonese Made Easy, Hongkong, 1884.
^ In this expression " Pidgin '' appears to be a corruption of the word business
taken in a very wide sense, as in such terms as talkee-pidgin =2. conversation,
discussion ; singsong pidgin = a concert, etc 'It is no unusual occurrence for
persons from widely separated Chinese provinces meeting in Eng'land to be
obliged to use this common jargon in conversation.
3 For the aboriginal peoples, with biblioKrajphy, see M. KenheTly's translation of
L. Richard's Compr^ehensive Geography of the Chinese Emjiire and its Dependencies,
1908, pp. 371-3.
* Kung-tse, " Teacher Kung," or more fully Kung-fu-tse, "the eminent teacher
Kung," which gives the Latinised forcn Confucius.
vi] Tke Southern Mongols 213
not have known ; Thateh your roof before the rain, dig the
well before you thirst ; The gambler's success is his ruin ;
Money goes to the gambling den as the criminal to execution
(never returns) ; Money hides many faults ; Stop the hand,
stop the mouth (stop work and starve) ; To open a shop is
easy, to keep it open hard ; Win your lawsuit and lose your
money.
Although he instituted no religious system, Confucius
nevertheless enjoined the observance of the already existing
forms of worship, and after death became himself the object
of a widespread cult, which still persists. "In every city
there is a temple, built at the public expense, containing either
a statue of the philosopher, or a tablet inscribed with his titles.
Every spring and autumn worship is paid to him in these
temples' by the chief official personages of the city. In the
schools also, on the first and fifteenth of each month, his title
being written on red paper and affixed to a tablet, worship is
performed in a special room by burning incense and candles,
and by prostrations'."
Taoism, a sort of pantheistic, mysticism, called by its
founder, Lao-tse (600 B.C.), the Tao, or "way of salvation,"
was embodied in the formula "matter and the _ .
visible world are merely manifestations of a
sublime, eternal, incomprehensible principle." It taught, in
anticipation of Sakya-Muni, that by controlling his passions
man may escape or cut short an endless series of trans-
migrations, and thus arrive by the Tao at everlasting bliss —
sleep .'' unconscious rest or absorption in the eternal essence ?
Nirvana .-' It is impossible to tell from the lofty but
absolutely unintelligible language in which the master's
teachings are wrapped.
But it matters little, because his disciples have long
forgotten the principles they never understood, and Taoism
has almost everywhere been transformed to a system of
magic associated with the never-dying primeval superstitions.
Originally there was no hierarchy of priests, the only specially
religious class being th5 Ascetics, who passed their lives
1 Kwong Ki Chiu, 1881, p. 875. Confucius was born in 550 and died in
477 B.C., and to him are at present dedicated as many as 1 560 temples, in which
are observed real sacrificial rites. For these sacrifices the State yearly supplies
26,606 sheep, pigs, rabbits and other animals, besides 27,000 pieces of silk, most
of which things, however, become the "perquisites" of the attendants in, the
sanctuaries.
214 Man: Past and Present [gh,
absorbed in the contemplation of the eternal verities. But
out of this class, drawn together by their common interests, was
developed a kind of monasticism, with an organised brother-
hood of astrologers, magicians, Shamanists, somnambulists,
"mediums," ''thought-readers," charlatans and impostors of
all sorts, sheltered under a threadbare garb of religion.
Buddhism also, although of foreign origin, has completely
conformed to the national spirit, and is now a curious blend
„ jj^. of Hindu metaphysics with the primitive Chinese
Buddhism. ,..-. . . ^ ^ . ,.^, '^ . .
belief m spirits and a deined ancestry. 1 n every
district are practised diverse forms of worship between which
no clear dividing line can be drawn, and, as in Annam, the
same persons may be at once followers of Confucius, Lao-tse,
and Buddha. In fact such was the position of the Emperor,
who belonged ex officio to all three of these State religions,
and scrupulously took part in their various observances.
There is even some truth in the Chinese view that " all three
make but one religion," the first appealing to man's moral
nature, the second to the instinct of self-preservation, the
third to the, higher sphere of thought and contemplation.
But behind, one might say above it all, the old animism
still prevails, manifested in a multitude of superstitious practices,
Fung-shui and whose purport is to appease the evil and secure
Ancestry the favour of the good spirits, the Feng-shui or
Worship. . Fung-shui, "air and water" genii, who have to
be reckoned with in all the weightiest as well as the most
trivial occurrences of daily life. These with the ghosts of
their ancestors, by whom the whole land is haunted, are the
bane of the Chinaman's existence. Everything depends on
maintaining a perfect balance between the Fung-shui, that is,
the two principles represented by the "White Tiger" and
the "Azure Dragon," who guard the approaches of every
dwelling, and whose opposing influences have to be nicely
adjusted by the well-paid professors of the magic arts. At
the de-ath of the emperor Tung Chih (1875) a great difficulty
was raised by the State astrologers, who found that the realm
would be endangered if he were bifried, according to rule, in
the imperial cemetery 100 miles west of Pekin, as his father
reposed in the other imperial cemetery situated the same
distance east of the capital. For some subtle reason the
balance would have been disturbed between Tiger and Dragon,
and it took nine months to settle the point, during which, as
VI ] The Southern Mongols 215
reported by the American Legation, the whole empire was
stirred, councils of State agitated, and ;^50,ooo expended to
decide where the remains of a worthless and vicious young
man should be interred.
Owing to the necessary disturbance of the ancestral burial
places, much trouble has been anticipated in the construction
of the railways, for which concessions have now been granted
to European syndicates. But an Englishman long resident
in the country has declared that there will be no resistance on
the part of the people. " The dead can be removed with due
regard to Fung Shui ; a few dollars will make that all right."
This is fully in accordance with the thrifty character of the
Chinese, which overrides all other considerations, as expressed
in the popular saying : " With money you may move the
gods ; without it you cannot move men." But the gods may
even be moved without money, or at least with spurious
paper money, for ft is a fixed belief of their votaries that, like
mortals, they may be outwitted by such devices. When
rallied for burning flash notes at a popular shrine, since no
spirit-bank would cash them, a Chinaman retorted : " Why
me burn good note ? Joss no can savvy." In a similar
spirit the god of war is hoodwinked by wooden boards hung
on the ramparts of Pekin and pairtted to look like heavy
ordnance.
In fact appearance, outward show, observance of the
" eleventh commandment," in a word " face," as it is called, is
everything in China. " To understand, however imperfectly,
what is meant by ' face,' we must take account of the fact that
as a race the Chinese have a strong dramatic instinct. Upon
very slight provocation any Chinese regards himself in the
light of an actor in a drama. A Chinese thinks in theatrical
terms. If his troubles are adjusted he speaks of himself as
having ' got off the stage ' with credit, and if they are not
adjusted he finds no way to ' retire from the stage.' The
question is never of facts, but always of form. Once rightly
apprehended, ' face ' will be found to be in itself a key to the
combination-lock of many of the most important characteristics
of the Chinese^"
* Arthur H. Smith, Chinese Characteristics, New York, 1895. The good, or
at least the useful, qualities of the Chinese are stated by this shrewd observer to
be a love of industry, peace, and social order, a matchless patience and for-
bearance under wrongs and evils beyond cure, a happy temperament, no nerves,
and "a digestion like that of an ostrich." See also H. A. Giles, China and the
2i6 Man: Past and Present [Ch.
Of foreign religions Islam, next to Buddhism, has made
most progress. Introduced by the early Arab and Persian
traders, and zealously preached throughout the
islamand Jagratai empire in the twelfth century, it has
secured a firm footmg especially m Kan-su,
Shen-si, and Yunnan, and is of course dominant in Eastern
(Chinese) Turkestan. Despite the wholesale butcheries that
followed the repeated insurrections between 1855 and 1877,
the Hoet-Hoe't, Pantkays, or Dungans, as the Muhammadans
are variously called, were still estimated, in 1898, at about
22,000,000 in the whole empire.
Islam was preceded by Christianity, which, as attested by
the authentic inscription of Si-ngan-fu, penetrated into the
western provinces under the form of Nestorianism about the
seventh century. The famous Roman Catholic missions with
headquarters at Pekin date from the close of the sixteenth
century, and despite internal dissensions have had a fair
measure of success, the congregations comprising altogether
over one million members. Protestant missions date from 1807
(London Missionary Society) and in 19 10 claimed over 200,000
church members and baptized Christians, the total having
more than doubled since igoo'.
The above-mentioned dissensions arose out of the practices
associated with ancestry worship, offerings of flowers, fruits
and so forth, which the Jesuits regarded merely as proofs of
filial devotion, but were denounced by the Dominicans as acts
of idolatry. After many years of idle controversy, the question
was at last decided against the Jesuits by Clement XI in the
fa,mous Bull, Ex ilia die (1715), and since then, neophytes
having to renounce the national cult of their forefathers, con-
versions have mainly been confined to the lower classes, too
humble to boast of any family tree, or too poor to commemorate
the dead by ever-recurring costly sepulchral rites.
In China there are no hereditary nobles, indeed no nobles
at all, unless it be the rather numerous descendants of Confucius
who dwell together and enjoy certain social privileges, in this
somewhat resembling the Shorfa (descendants of the Prophet)
in Muhammadan lands. If any titles have to be awarded for
Chinese^ igo2 ; E. H. Parker, John Chinaman and a Few Others^ igoi ; J. Dyer
Ball, Things Chinese, 1903 ; and M. Kennelly in Richard's Comprehensive Geography
of the Chinese Empire and its Dependencies, 1908.
1 See Contemporary Review, Feb. 1908, " Report on Christian Missions in
China," by Mr F. W. Fox, Professor Macsdister and Sir Alekander Simpson.
vi] The Southern Mongols 217
great deeds they fall, not on the hero, but on his forefathers,
and thus at a stroke of the vermilion pencil are ennobled
countless past generations, while the last of the line remains
unhonoured until he goes over to the majority. Between the
Emperor, " patriarch of his people," and the people themselves,
however, there stood an aristocracy of talent, or
at least of Chinese scholarship, the governing Jf^^sg^*"**"^
Mandarin^ class, which was open to the highest
and the lowest alike. All nominations to office were conferred
exclusively on the successful competitors at the public examina-
tions, so that, like the French conscript with the hypothetical
Marshal's baton in his knapsack, every Chinese citizen carried
the buttoned cap of official rank in his capacious sleeve. Of
these there are nine grades, indicated respectively in descending
order by the ruby, red coral, sapphire, opaque blue, crystal,
white shell, gold (two), and silver button, or rather little
globe, on the cap of office, with which correspond the nine
birds — manchu crane, golden pheasant, peacock, wild goose,
silver pheasant, egret, mandarin duck, quail, and jay — em-
broidered on the breast and back of the State robe.
Theoretically the system is admirable, and at all events is
better than appointments by Court favour. But in practice it
was vitiated, first by the narrow, antiquated course of studies in
the dry Chinese classics, calculated to produce pedants rather
than statesmen, and secondly by the monopoly of preference
which it conferred on a lettered caste to the exclusion of men of
action, vigour, and enterprise. Moreover, appointments being
made for life, barring crime or blunder, the Mandarins, as
long as they approved themselves zealous supporters of the
reigning dynasty, enjoyed a free hand in amassing wealth by
plunder, and the wealth thus acquired was used to purchase
further promotion and advancement, rather than to improve
the welfare of the people.
They have the reputation of being a courteous people,
as punctilious as the Malays themselves ; and they are so
amongst each other. But their attitude towards strangers is
the embodiment of aggressive self-righteousness, a complacent
feeling of superiority which nothing can disturb. Even the
upper classes, with all their efforts to be at least polite, often
1 A happy Portuguese coinage from the Malay mantri, a state minister, which
is the Sanskrit mantrin, a counsellor, from mantra, a sacred text, a counsel, from
Aryan root man, to think, know, whence also the EngHsh mind.
2i8 Man: Past and Present [ch. vi
betray the feeling in a subdued arrogance which is not always
to be distinguished from vulgar insolence. "After the
courteous, kindly Japanese, the Chinese seem indifferent,,
rough, and disagreeable, except the well-to-do merchants in
the shops, who are bland, complacent, and courteous. Their
rude stare, and the- way they hustle you in the streets and
shout their 'pidjun' English at you is not attractive'." But
the stare, the hustling and the shouting may not be due to
incivility. No doubt the Chinaman regards the foreigner as
a " devil " but he has reason, and he never ceases to be
astonished at foreign manners and customs "extremely fero-
cious and almost entirely uncivilised^"
1 Miss Bird (Mrs Bishop), The Golden Chersonese, 1883, p. 37.
* H. A. Giles, The Civilisation of China, 191 1, p. 237. See especially Chap. XI.,
" Chinese and Foreigners," for the etiquette of street regulations and the habit of
shouting conversation.
CHAPTER VII
THE OCEANIC MONGOLS
Range of the Oceanic Mongols— The term "Malay"— The Historical Malays-
Malay Cradle— Migrations and Present Range— The Malayans— The Java-
nese— Balinese and Sassaks — Hindu Legends in Bali — The Malayan Sea-
farers and Rovers — Malaysia and Pelasgia : a Historical Parallel — Malayan
Folklore — Borneo — Punan — Klemantan — Bahau-Kenyah-Kayan — Iban (Sea
Dayak) — Summary — Religion — Early Man and his Works in Sumatra —
The Mentawi Islanders— Javanese and Hindu Influences— The Malajfsian
Alphabets — The Battas : Cultured Cannibals— Hindu and Primitive Survivals
— The Achinese — Early Records — Islam and Hindu Reminiscences — Ethnical
Relations in Madagascar — Prehistoric Peoples — Oceanic Immigrants — Negroid
Element — Arab Element — Uniformity of Language — Malagasy Gothamites —
Partial Fusion of Races— Hova Type — Black Element from Africa— Mental
Qualities of the Malagasy — Spread of Christianity — Culture — Malagasy Folk-
lore— The Philippine Natives — Effects of a Christian Theocratic Government
on the National Character — Social Groups: the Iridios, the Infielos, and the
Moros — Malayans and Indonesians in Formosa — The Chinese Settlers —
Racial and Linguistic Affinities — ^Formosa a Connecting Link between the
Continental and Oceanic Populations — ^^The Nicobarese.
Conspectus.
Present Ranee. Indonesia, Philippines, ^. ^ „ ^.
n- \T- 1. r n/r^ *^ Distribution.
Formosa, Ntcooar Is., Madagascar.
riair, same as Southern Mongols, scant or no beard.
Colour, yellowish or olive brown, yellow tint
sometimes very 'faint or absent, Ught leathery hue characters.
com-mofi in Madagascar.
true Mongol. Nose, rather snmll^ften straight with ■widish
nostrils {mesorrtiine). Eyes, black, medium, size ^ horizontal
or slightly oblique, often wWinWongoTJold. Stature, under-
sized, from 1-52 m. to 1-65 m. (.S ft., to .q /^ 5 jWj^ Lips,
'thickish^jHgJtt^_ ^rotruding,jinclke^ ajittle_ apart in repose.
Arms and legs, rather small, slender and deliccdejj^^^
^ ^WiCitlL
TempemflaeiUL. Normally quiet, reserved and taciturn.
220 Man : Past and Present [ch.
but under excitement subject to fits of blind fi^ig> : fairly in-
"lelligent, polite and ceremonious, but unc'eridin,
rw^!f»,= "untfiistworthy, and even treacherous; daring,
adventurous and ZMimi.; MMUMi MitJasimaU^
crml^though indifferent to physical snfferingin^MtJkexs.
Speech, varidujbranches_^of a single stock lan^uaze —
the Austronesian (Oceanic or Malayo-Polynesian), at
different stages of aggluttnatwn.
~ Religion, of the primitive Malayans somewhat un-
developed— a vague dread of ghosts and other spirits, but rites
and ceremonies mainly absent, although human sacrifices to the
departed occui'red in Borneo ; the cultured Malayans formerly
Hindus (^Brahman, and Buddhist), now mostly Moslem, but in
the Philippines and Madagascar Christian; belief in witch-
^craft, charms, and spells everywhere prevalent.
Culture, of the primitive Malayans very low — head-hunting,
mutilation, common in Borneo; hunting, fishing; no agri-
culture; sim.ple arts and industries; the Moslem and Christian
Malayans semi-civilised; the industrial arts — weaving, dyeing,
pottery, metal-work, also trade, navigation, house and boat-
building— well developed; architecture form-erly flourishing in
Java under Hindu influences; letters widespread even amongst
I som,e of the rude Malayans, but literature and science rudi-
\jnentary; rich oral folklore.
Malayans (Proto-Malays): Lampongs, Rejangs, Battas,
Achinese, and Palembangs in Sumatra ; Sundanese, Javanese
Mdi D" ■ ■ proper,^nd Madurese in Java; Dayaks in Borneo;
Balinese; Sassaks [Lombok); Bugis and Mang-
kassaras in Celebes; Tagalogs, Visayas, Bicols, Ilocanos and
Pangasinanes in Philippines; Aborigines of Formosa; Nic&bar
Islanders; Hovas, Betsimisarakas, and Sakalavas in Mada-
gascar.
Malays Proper {Historzcal Malays): Menangkabau
{SumatrcC); Malay Peninsula; Pinang, Singapore, Lingga,
Bangka; Borneo Coastlands; Tidor, Temate; Amboina;
Parts of the Sulu Archipelago.
In the Oceanic domain, which for ethnical purposes begins
at the neck of the Malay Peninsula, the Mongol peoples range
Range of the ffom Madagascar eastwards to Formosa and
Oceanic Micronesia, but are found in compact masses
Mongols. chiefly on the mainland, in the Sunda Islands
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 221
(Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Borneo, Celebes) and in the
Philippines. Even here they have mingled in many places
with other populations, forming fresh ethnical groups, in
which the Mongol element is not always conspicuous. Such
fusions have taken place with the Negrito aborigines in
the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines ; with Papuans in
Micronesia, Flores, and other islands east of Lombok ; with
dolichocephalic Indonesians in Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes,
Halmahera (Jilolo), parts of the Philippines', and perhaps also
Timor and Ceram ; and with African negroes {Bantu) in
Madagascar. To unravel some of these racial entanglements
is one of the most difficult tasks in anthropology, and in the
absence of detailed information cannot yet be everywhere
attempted with any prospect of success.
The problem has been greatly, though perhaps inevitably
complicated by the indiscriminate extension of the term
" Malay" to all these and even to other mixed
Oceanic populations farther east, as, for instance, " Mau^-
in the expression "Malayo-Polynesian," applied
by many writers not oinly in a linguistic, but also in an ethnical
sense, to most of the insular peoples from Madagascar to Easter
Island, and from Hawaii to New Zealand. It is now of
course too late to hope to remedy this misuse of terms by
proposing a fresh nomenclature. But much of the consequent
confusion will be avoided by restricting MaJayo-Pplynesian^
altogether to linp^uistic piatter.s, and carelullv di'strnguishing
between Indonesiian^ the pre-Malay jdoIkhocepiialic,,elemeJi!t
in Oceania^ Malayan or Proto-Mal^-an. co\\ect\w& na.m& oi
1 Here E. T. Hamy finds connectii^ links between the true Malays and the
Indonesians in the Bicoils of Albay and the Bisayas of Panay (" Les Races Malai-
ques et Am6ricaines," in E Anthrapolegie, 1896, p. 136). Used in this extended
sense, Hamy's Malaique corresponds generally to our Malayan as defined presently.
2 Ethnically Malayo-Polynesian is an impossible expression, because it links
together the Malays, who belong to the Mongol, and the Polynesians, who belong
to the Caucasic division. But as both undoubtedly speak languages of -the same
linguistic stock the expression is permitted in philology, although, as P. W. Schmidt
points out, " Malay " and " Polynesian " are not of equal rank : and the combination
is as unbalanced as " Indo-Bavarian " far " Indo-Germanic " ; it is best therefore to
adopt Schmidt's term Austronesian for this family of languages {Die Mon-Khmer
Volker, 1906, p. 69).
3 Indonesian type : uiiduilating' black hair, often tinged with red ; tawny skin, ciften
rather light; low stature, i"54m.— rS7 m. (5 ft. o| in.— 5 ft. if in.); mesaticephalic
head (76-78) probably originally dolichoceiphalic ; cheek-bones sometimes pro-
jecting; nose often flattened, sometimes concave. It is difficult to isolate this ty.pe
as it has almost everywhere been mixed with a brachycephalic Prcto-Malay stock,
but the Muruts of Borneo (cranial index 73) are iptiobahty itypical (A. C. iladdon,
The Races of Man, 1909, p. 14).
222 Man : Past and Present [ch.
all the Oceanic Mongols, who are brachycephals. and Malay
a'particuiar Sranch of the W:S^ixi~^^^'^_^^^^^^a^
J \n JilM^gy, pp. 326-3o\
^^ The essential point to remember is that the true Malays-^
who call themselves Orang-Maldyu, speak the standard but
quite modern Malay language, and are all
The Historical Muhammadans — are a historical people who
Malays. , . . . . ^ ^ .
appear on the scene in relatively recent times,
ages after the insular' world had been occupied by the Mongol
peoples to whom their name has been extended, but who
- never call themselves Malays. The Orany-Malavu. who have '
acquired such an astonishing predominance in the Eastern
Archipelago, were originally an obscure tribe who rose..to
power in the Menangkabau district, Sumalra. not before tne
twelfth centuryT'ana whose migrations date, only from about
tKe~"y^r~Tf66 "a-dT At this time, according to the native
' "record^s"^",' was founded th^ first foreign settlerjient, Singapore,
a pure Sanskrit name meaning the " Lion City/' from which
it might be inferred that these first settlers were not Muham-
madans, as is commonly assumed, but Brahmans or Buddhists,
both these forms of Hinduism having been propagated
.throughout Sumatra and the other Sunda Islands centuries
before this time. It is also noteworthy that the
Prwen^rRLTge^ '^^''^y settlers On the mainland are stated to have
been pagans, or to have professed some corrupt
form of Hindu idolatry, till their conversion to Islam by the
renowned Sultan Mahmud Shah about the middle of the
thirteenth century. It is therefore probable enough that the
earlier movements were carried out under Hindu influences,
and may have begun long before the historical date 1160.
Menangkabau, however, was the first Mussulman State that
acquired political supremacy in Sumatra, and this district thus
became the chief centre for the later diffusion of the cultured
Malays, their language, usages, and religion,, throughout the
Peninsula and the Archipelago. Here they are now found in
compact masses chiefly in south Sumatra (Menangkabau,
Palembang, the Lampongs) ; in all the insblar groups between
Sumatra and Borneo ; in the Malay Peninsula as far north as
1 Recent literature on this area includes F. A. Swettenham, The Real Malay,
1900, British Malaya, 1906; W. W. Skeat, Malay Magic, 1900; N. Annandale
and H. C. Robinson, Fasciculi Malayenses, 1903; W. W. Skeat and C. O. Blagden,
Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, 1903.
2 J. Leyden, Malay Annals, 1821, p. 44.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 223
the Kra Isthmus, here intermingling with the Siamese as "Sam-
Sams," partly Buddhists, partly Muhammadans ; round the
coast of Borneo and about the estuaries of that island ; in Tidor,
Ternate, and the adjacent coast of Jilolo ; in the Banda, Sula,
and Sulu groups; in Batavia, Singapore, and all the other
large seaports of the Archipelago. In all these lands beyond
Sumatra the Orang-Maldyu are thus seen to be comparatively
recent arrivalsS and in fact intruders on the other Malayan
populations, with whom they collectively constitute the Oceanic
branch of the Mongol division. Their diffusion was every-
where brought about much in the same way as in Ternate,
where A. R. Wallace tells us that the ruling people "are an
intrusive Malay race somewhat allied to the Macassar people,
who settled in the country at a very early epoch, drove out
the indigenes, who were no doubt the same as those of the
adjacent island of Gilolo, and established a monarchy. They
perhaps obtained many of their wives from the natives, which
will account for the extraordinary language they speak — in some
respects closely allied to that of the natives of Gilolo, while it
contains much that points to a Malayan [Malay] origin. To
most of these people the Malay language is quite unintelli-
gible^"
The Malayan populations, as distinguished from the Malays
proper, form socially two very distinct classes — the Orang
Benua, "Men of the Soil," rude aborigines, The Malayans-
numerous especially in the interior of the Malay two Classes ;
Peninsula, Borneo, Celebes, Jilolo, Timor, Rude and
Ceram, the Philippines, Formosa, and Mada-
gascar ; and the cultured peoples, formerly Hindus but now
mostly Muhammadans, who have long been constituted in
large communities and nationalities with historical records,
and flourishing arts and industries. They speak cultivated
languages of the Austronesian family, generally much better
preserved and of richer grammatical structure than the
simplified modern speech of the Orang-Maldyu. Such are
the Achinese, Rejangs, and Passumahs of Sumatra ; the
1 In some places quite recent, as in Rembau, Malay Peninsula, whose inhabitants
are mainly immigrants from Sumatra in the seventeenth century; and in the
neighbouring group of petty Negri Sembilan States, where the very tribal names,
such as Anak Acheh, and Sri Lemak Menangkabau, betray their late arrival from
the Sumatran districts of Achin and Menangkabau.
2 The Malay Archipelago, p. 310.
224 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Bugis, Mangkassaras and some Minahasans of Celebes' ; the
Tagalogs and Visayas of the Philippines ; the Sassaks and
Balinese of Lombok and Bali (most of these still Hindus) ;
the Madurese and Javanese proper of Java ; and the Hovas of
Madagascar. To call any of these " Malays^" is like calling
the Italians " French," or the Germans " English," because of
their respective Romance and Teutonic connections.
Preeminent in many respects amongst all the Malayan
peoples are the Javanese — Sundanese in the west, Javanese
proper in the centre, Madurese in the east— who
e Javanese. Tj^gj-e a highly civilised nation while the Sumatran
Malays were still savages, perhaps head-hunters and cannibals
like the neighbouring Battas. Although now almost exclu-
sively Muhammadans, they had already adopted some form of
Hinduism probably over 2000 years ago, and under the
guidance of their Indian teachers had rapidly developed a very
advanced state of culture. " Under a completely organised
although despotic government, the arts of peace and war were
brought to considerable perfection, and the natives of Java
became famous throughout the East as accomplished musicians
and workers in gold, iron and copper, none of which metals were
found in the island itself They possessed a regular calendar
with astronomical eras, and a metrical literature, in which,
however, history was inextricably blended with romance.
Bronze' and stone inscriptions in the Kavi, or old Javanese
language, still survive from the eleventh or twelfth century,
and to the same dates may be referred the vast ruins of
Brambanam and the stupendous temple of Boro-budor in the
centre of the island. There are few statues of Hindu
divinities in this temple, but many are found in its immediate
vicinity, and from the various archaeological objects collected in
1 For Celebes see Von Paul und Friu Sarasin, Reisen in Celebes ausgefUhrt in
den Jahren i8gj-6 und igoz-j, 1905, and Versuch einer Anthropplogie der Jnsel
Celebes, 1905.
2 In 1898 a troop of Javanese minstrels visited London, and one of them, whom
I addressed in a few broken Malay sentences, resented in his sleepy way the
imputation that he was an Orang-Maldyu, explaining that he was Orang Java,
a Javanese, and (when further questioned) Orang Solo, a native of the Solo
district, East Java. It was interesting to notice the very marked Mongolic features
of these natives, vividly recalling the remark of A. R. Wallace, on the difficulty of
distinguishing between a Javanese and a Chinaman when both are dressed alike.
The resemblance may to a small extent be due to "mixture with Chinese blood"
(B. Hagen, Jour. Anthrep. Soc. Vienna, 1889) ; but occurs over such a wide area
that it must mainly be attributed to the common origin of the Chinese and Javanese
peoples.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 225
the district it is evident that both the Buddhist and Brahmanic^l
forms of Hinduism were introduced at an early date.
"But all came to an end by the overthrow of the chief
Hindu power in 1478, after which event Islam spread rapidly
over the whole of Java and Madura. Brahmanism, however,
still holds its ground in Bali and Lombok, the last strongholds
of Hinduism in the Eastern Archipelago'."
On the obscure religious and social relations in these
Lesser Sundanese Islands much light has been thrown by
Capt. W. Cool, an English translation of whose
work With the Dutch in the East was issued by g^^ks *"**
E. J. Taylor in 1897. Here it is shown how
Hinduism, formerly dominant throughout a great part of
Malaysia, gradually yielded in some places to a revival of the
never extinct primitive nature-worship, in others to the spread
of Islam, which in Bali alone failed to gain a footing. In this
island a curious mingling of Buddhist and Brahmanical forms
with the primordial heathendom not only persisted, but was
strong enough to acquire the political ascendancy over the
Mussulman Sassaks of the neighbouring island primitive and
of Lombok. Thus while Islam reigns exclusively later Religions
in Java — formerly the chief domain of Hinduism and Cultures,
in the Archipelagb — Bali, Lombok, and even Sumbawa,
present the strange spectacle of large communities professing
every form of belief, from the grossest heathendom to pure
monotheism.
As I have elsewhere pointed out'', it is the same with the
cultures and general social conditions, which show an almost
unbroken transition from the savagery of Sumbawa to the
relative degrees of refinement reached by the natives of
Lombok and especially of Bali. Here, however, owing to the
unfavourable political relations, a retrograde movement is
perceptible in the crumbling temples, grass-grown highways,
and neglected homesteads. But it is everywhere evident
enough that "just as Hinduism has only touched the outer
surface of their religion, it has failed to penetrate into their
social institutions, which, like their gods, originate from the
time when Polynesian heathendom was all powerfuP."
A striking illustration of the vitality of the early beliefs is
' A. H. Keane, Eastern Geography, 2nd ed. 1892, p. 121.
2 Academy, May I, 1897, p. 469.
' Cool, p. 139.
K. . IS
226 Man : Past and Present [ch.
presented by the local traditions, which relate how these foreign
gods installed themselves in the Lesser Sundanese
S'Btu.^^^^"''^ Islands after their expulsion from Java by the
Muhammadans in the fifteenth century. Being
greatly incensed at the introduction of the Koran, and also
anxious to avoid contact with the "foreign devils," the
Hindu deities moved eastwards with the intention of setting
up their throne in Bali. But Bali already possessed its own
gods, the wicked Rakshasas, who fiercely resented- the
intrusion, but in the struggle that ensued were annihilated,
all but the still reigning Mraya Dewana. Then the new
thrones had to be erected on heights, as in Java; but at
that time there were no mountains in Bali, which was a very
flat country. So the difificulty was overcome by bodily trans-
ferring the four hills at the eastern extremity of Java to the
neighbouring island. Gunong Agong, highest of the four,
was set down in the east, and became the Olympus of Bali,
while the other three were planted in the west, south, and north,
and assigned to the different gods according to their respective
ranks. Thus were at once explained the local theogony and
the present physical features of the island.
Despite their generally quiet, taciturn demeanour, all these
Sundanese peoples are just as liable as the Orang-Malayu
R Am k himself, to those sudden outbursts of demoniacal
frenzy and homicidal mania called by them meng-
dmok, and by us "running amok." Indeed A. R. Wallace
tells us that such wild outbreaks occur more frequently (about
one or two every month) amongst the civilised Mangkassaras
and Bugis of south Celebes than elsewhere in the Archipelago.
"It is the national and therefore the honourable mode of
committing suicide among the natives of Celebes, and is the
fashionable way of escaping from their difficulties. A Roman
fell upon his sword, a Japanese rips up his stomach, and an
Englishman blows out his brains with a pistol. The Bugis
mode has many advantages to one suicidically inclined.
A man thinks himself wronged by society — he is in debt and
cannot pay — he is taken for a slave or has gambled away his
wife or child into slavery — he sees no way of recovering what
he has lost, and becomes desperate. He will not put up with
such cruel wrongs, but will be revenged on mankind and die
like a hero. He grasps his kris-handle, and the next moment
draws out the weapon and stabs a man to the heart. He runs
VII ] The Oceanic Mongols 227
on, with .bloody kris in his hand, stabbing at everyone he
meets. ' Amok ! Amok ! ' then resounds through the streets.
Spears, krisses, knives and guns are brought out against him.
He rushes madly forward, kills all he can — men, women, and
children — and dies overwhelmed by numbers amid all the
excitement of a battle \"
Possibly connected with this blind impulse may be the
strange nervous affection called Idtah, which is also prevalent
amongst the Malayans, and which was first
clearly described by the distinguished Malay Malady'*''
scholar, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham'. No
attempt has yet been made thoroughly to diagnose this uncanny
disorder*, which would seem so much more characteristic of
the high-strung or shattered nervous system of ultra-refined
European society, than of that artless unsophisticated child of
nature, the Orang-Maldyu. Its effects on the mental state
are such as to disturb all normal cerebration, and Swettenham
mentions two Icitah-struck Malays, who would make admirable
" subjects " at a stance of theosophic psychists. Any simple
device served to attract their attention, wben by merely
looking them hard in the face they fell helplessly in the
hands of the operator, instantly lost all self-control, and went
passively through any performance either verbally imposed or
even merely suggested by a sign.
A peculiar feminine strain has often been imputed to the
Malay temperament, yet this same Oceanic people displays in
many respects a curiously kindred spirit with the ordinary
'Englishman, as, for instance, in his love of gambling, boxing,
cock-fighting, field sports^- and adventure. No more fearless
explorers of the high seas, formerly rovers and corsairs, at all
times enterprising traders, are anywhere to be found than the
Menangkabau Malays, and their near kinsmen, The Malayan
the renowned Bugis " Merchant Adventurers " Seaifarers and
of south Celebes. Their clumsy but seaworthy ^"'^""s-
praus are met in every seaport from Sumatra to the Aru Islands,
and they have established permanent trading stations and even
settlements in Borneo, the Philippines, Timor, and as far east
as New Guinea. On one occasion Wallace sailed from Dobbo
1 The Malay Archipelago, p. 175.
2 In Malay Sketches, 1895.
3 Cf. M. A. Czaplicka on Arctic Hysteria in Aboriginal Siberia, 1914, p. 307.
* 0n these national pastimes see Sir Hugh Clifford, In Court and Kampong,
1897, p. 46 sq.
IS— 2
228 Man : Past and Present [cH.
in company with fifteen large Makassar praus, each with a cargo
worth about ^looo, and as many of the Bugis settle amongst
the rude aborigines of the eastern isles, they thus cooperate
with the Sumatran Malays in extending the area of civilising
influences throughout Papuasia.
Formerly they combined piracy with legitimate trade, and
long after the suppression of the North Bornean corsairs by
Keppel and Brooke, the inland waters continued to be infested
especially by the Bajau rovers of Celebes, and by the Balagnini
of the Sulu Archipelago, most dreaded of all the Orang-Laut,
" Men of the Sea," the " Sea Gypsies " of the English. These
were the " Cellates " [Orang-Selat, " Men of the Straits ") of
the early Portuguese writers, who described them as from
time immemorial engaged in fishing and plundering on the
high seas'.
In those days, and even in comparatively late times, the
relations in the Eastern Archipelago greatly resembled those
Malaysia and prevailing in the Aegean Sea at the dawn of
Peiasgia— Greek history, while the restless seafaring popu-
a Historical lations were still in a state of flux, passing from
island to island in quest of booty or barter before
permanently settling down in favourable sites ^ With the
Greek historian's philosophic disquisition on these Pelasgian
and proto-Hellenic relations may be compared A. R. Wallace's
account of the Batjan coastlands when visited by him in the
late fifties. " Opposite us, and all along this coast of Batchian,
stretches a row of fine islands completely uninhabited. When-
ever I asked the reason why no one goes to live in them, the
answer always was 'For fear of the Magindano pirates'.'
Every year these scourges of the Archipelago wander in one
direction or another, making their rendezvous on some
uninhabited island, and carrying devastation to all the small
settlements around ; robbing, destroying, killing, or taking
' Cujo officio he rubar e pesCar, " whose business it is to rob and fish " (Barros).
Many ot the Bajaus lived entirely afloat, passing their lives in boats from the cradle
to the grave, and praying Allah that they might die at sea.
* Thucydides, Pel. War, I. 1-16.
' These are the noted Illanuns, who occupy the south side of the large
Philippine island of Mindanao, but many of whom, hke the Bajaus of Celebes and
the Sulu Islanders, have formed settlements .on the north-east coast of Borneo.
"Long a«o their warfare against the Spaniards degenerated into general piracy.
Their usual practice was not to take captives, but to murder all on board any boat
they took. Those with us [British North BorneoJ-have all settled down to a. more
orderly way of life" (W. B. Vrytr, Jourtt. Anthr. Inst. 1886, p. 231).
viij Tke Oceanic Mongols 229
captive all they meet with. Their long, well-manned praus
escape from the pursuit of any sailing vessel by pulling away
right in the wind's eye, and the warning smoke of a steamer
generally enables them to hide in some shallow bay, or narrow
river, or forest-covered inlet, till the danger is passed'." Thus,
like geographical surroundings, with corresponding social
conditions, produce like results in all times amongst all
peoples.
This fundamental truth receives further illustration from
the ideas prevalent amongst the Malayans regarding witch-
craft, the magic arts, charms and spells, and Malayan
especially the belief in the power of certain Folklore-The
malevolent human beings to transform them- Were-tiger,
selves into wild beasts and prey upon their fellow-creatures.
Such superstitions girdle the globe, taking their local colouring
from the fauna of the different regions, so that the were-wolf
of medieval Europe finds its counterpart in the human jaguar
of South America, the human lion or leppard of Africa', and
the human tiger of the Malay Peninsula. Hugh Clifford, who
relates an occurrence known to himself in connection with
a " were-tiger " story of the Perak district, aptly remarks that
"the white man and the brown, the yellow and the black,
independently, and without receiving the idea from one
another, have all found the same explanation for the like
phenomena, all apparently recognising the truth of the Malay
proverb, that we are like unto the tdman fish that preys upon
its own kind'." The story in question turns upon a young
bride, whose husband comes home late three nights following,
and the third time, being watched, is discovered by her in the
form of a full-grown tiger stretched on the ladder, which, as ia
all Malay houses, leads from the ground to the threshold of
the door. " Patfmah gazed at the tiger from a distance of
only a foot or two, for she was too paralysed with fear to
move or cry out, and as she looked a gradual transformation
■took place in the creature at her feet. Slowly, as one sees
a ripple of wind pass over the surface of still water, the tiger's
' The Malay Archipelago, p. 341. ,
2 In Central Africa " the belief in ' were ' animals, that is to say in human
beings who have changed themselves into lions or leopards or some such harmful
beasts, is nearly universal.- Moreover thftre are individuals who imagine they
possess this power of assuming the form of an animal and killing human beings in
that shape." Sir H. H. Johnston, British Central Africa, p. 439.
^ In Court and Kampong, p. 63.
230 Man : Past and Present [ch.
features palpitated and were changed, until the horrified girl
saw the face of her husband come up through that of the
beast, much as the face of a diver comes up to the surface of
a pool. In another moment Patimah saw that it was Haji All
who was ascending the ladder of his house, and the spell that
had hitherto bound her was snapped."
These same Malays of Perak, H. H. Rajah Dris tells us,
are still speciailly noted for many strange customs and super-
stitions "utterly opposed to Muhammadan teaching, and
savouring strongly of devil-worship. This enormous belief
in the supernatural is possibly a relic of the pre-Islam State\"
We do not know who were the primitive inhabitants of
Borneo. One would expect to find Negritoes in the interior,
„ but despite the assertion of A. de Ouatrefages^
it is impossible to overlook the conclusions of
A. B. Meyer' that no authoritative evidence of their occurrence
is forthcoming, and A. C. Haddon* confidently states that
there are none in Sarawak. It might be supposed that the
Pre-Dravidian element found in Sumatra and Celebes might
occur also in Borneo, but tlje only indication of such influence
is the "black skin" noticed among certain Ulu Ayar of the
Upper Kapuas in Western Dutch Borneo^ With the ex-
ception of certain peoples such as Europeans, Indians, Chinese,
and Orang-Malayu, whose foreign origin is obvious, the
population as a whole may be regarded as being composed of
two main races, the Indonesian and Proto-Malay. Probably
all tribes are of mixed origin, but some, such as the Murut,
Dusun, Kalabit, and Land Day ak are more Indonesian while
the Iban [Sea Dayak) are distinctly Proto-Malay. The
Land Day ak have doubtless been crossed with Indo-Javans.
Scattered over a considerable part of the jungle live the
nomad Punan and Ukit. They are a slender pale people
Punan '^^^^ a slightly broad head. They are grouped
in small communities and inhabit the dense
jungle at the head waters of the principal rivers of Borneo.
^ Journ. Anthr. Inst. 1886, p. 227. The Rajah gives the leading features of
the character of his countrymen as " pride of race and birth, extraordinary observance
of punctiho, and a bigoted adherence to ancient custom and tradition."
^ The Pygmies (Translation), 1895, p. 26, fig. 15.
' The Distribution of the Negritos, -lii^q, p. 50.
* In the Appendix to C. Hose and W. McDougall, The Pagan Tribes of Borneo,
1912, p. 311.
' J. H. Kohlbrugge, U Anthropologie, IX. 1898.
^ii] The Oceanic Mongols 231
They live on whatever they can find in the jungle, and do not
cultivate the soil, nor live in permanent houses. Their few
wants are supplied by barter from friendly settled peoples, or
in return for iron implements, calico, beads, tobacco, etc., they
offer jungle produce, mainly gutta, indiaru'bber, camphor,
dammar and ratans. They are very mild savages, not
head-hunters, they are generous to one another, moderately
truthful, kind to the women and very fond of their
children.
Hose and H addon have introduced the term Klemantan
{Kalamantan) for the weak agricultural tribes such as the
Murui, Kalabit, Land Dayak, Sebop, Barawan,
Milanau, etc.^ Brook Low^ who knew the ^'^'"^"*^°-
Land Dayak well, gives a very favourable account of the
people and this opinion has been confirmed by other travellers.
They are described as amiable, honest, grateful, moral and
hospitable. Crimes of violence, other than head-hunting, are
unknown. The circular panga is a "house set apart for the
residence of young unmarried men, in which the trophy-heads
are kept, and here also all ceremonial receptions take place'."
The baloi of the Ot Danom of the Kahajan river is very
similar*. The very energetic and dominating
Bahau-Kenyah-Kayan group are rather short in Klyan'^^"^*''"
stature, with slightly broad heads. They occupy
the best tracts of land which lie in the undulating hills at the
upper reaches of the rivers, between the swampy low country
and the mountains. The Kayan more especially have almost
exterminated some of the smaller tribes. The Klemantan
and Kenyah-Kayan tribes are agriculturalists. They clear
the jungle off the low hills that flank the tributaries of the
larger rivers, but always leave a few scattered trees standing ;
irrigation is attempted by the Kalabits only, as padi rice is
grown like any other cereals on dry ground ; swamp padi is
also grown on the low land. In their gardens they grow
yams, pumpkins, sugar cane, bananas, and sometimes coconuts
and other produce. They hunt all land animals that serve as
food, and fish, usually with nets, in the rivers, or spear those
* A. C. Haddon, " A Sketch of the Ethnography of Sarawak," Archivio per
r Antropologia e P Etnologia,'X.yi'K.l. igoi ; C. Hose and W. McDougall, The Pagan
Tribes of Borneo, 1912, Appendix, p. 314.
2 H. Ling Roth, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, 1896.
3 O. Beccari, Wanderings in the Great Forests of Borneo, 1904, p. 54.
* Schwaner, in H. Ling Roth, The Natives of Sarawak, etc., i8g6.
232 Man : Past and Present [ch.
fish that have been stupefied with tuda ; river prawns are also
a favourite article of diet.
They all live in long communal houses which are situated
on the banks of the rivers. Among the Klemantan tribes the
headman has not much influence, unless he is a man of
exceptional power and energy, but among the larger tribes
and especially among the Kayan and Kenyah the headmen
are the real chiefs and exercise undisputed sway. The
Kenyah are perhaps the rhost advanced in social evolution,
holding their own by superior solidarity and intelligence
against the turbulent Kayan.
All the agricultural tribes are artistic, but in varying
degrees ; they are also musical and sing delightful chorus
songs. In some tribes the ends of the beams of the houses
are carved to represent various animals, in some the verandah '
is decorated with boldly carved planks, or with painted boards
and doors. The bamboo receptacles carved in low relief, the
bone handles of their swords and the minor articles of daily life,
are decorated in a way that reveals the true artistic spirit.
Both Kenyah and Kayan smelt iron and make spear heads
and sword blades, the former being especially noted for their
good steel. The forge with two bellows is the form widely
spread in Malaysia.
The truculent Iban {Sea Dayak) have spread from a
restricted area in Sarawak\ They are short and have
broader heads than the other tribes ; the colour
(Sea Dayak). '? ^"^ ^^ whole darker than among the cinnamon
coloured inland tribes. They have the same
long, slightly wavy, black hair showing a reddish tinge in
certain lights, that .is characteristic of the Borneans generally.
Most of the Ibah inhabit low lying land ; they prefer to live
on the low hills, but as this is not always practicable they
plant swamp padi; all those who settle at the heads of
rivers plant padi on the hills in the same manner as the
up-river natives. They also cultivate maize, sugar cane,
sweet potatoes, gourds, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons, mustard,
ginger and other vegetables. Generally groups of relations
work together in the fields. Although essentially agricultural,
they are warlike and passionately devoted to head-hunting.
The Iban of the Batang Lupar and Saribas in the olden days
joined the Malays in their large war praus on piratical raids
' A. C. Haddon, Head-Hunters, Black, White and Brown, 1901, p. 324,
V"] The Oceanic Mongols 233
along the coast and up certain rivers and they owe their name
of Sea Dayaks to this practice. The raids were organised by
Malays who went for plunder but they could always ensure
the aid of I ban by the bribe of the heads of the slain as their
share. The I ban women weave beautiful cotton cloths on
a very simple loom. Intricate patterns are made by tying
several warp strands with leaves at varying intervals, then
dipping the whole into the dye which does not penetrate the
tied portions. This process is repeated if a three-colour
design is desired. The pattern is produced solely in the warp,
the woof threads are self-coloured and are not visible in the
fabric, which is therefore a cotton rep. Little tattooing is
seen among the I ban women though the men have adopted
the custom from the Kayan.
It is probable that the I ban belong to the same stock as
the original Malay and if so, their migration may be regarded
as the first wave of the movement that culminated in the
Malay Empire. The Malays must have come to Borneo not
later than the early part of the fifteenth century as Brunei was
a large and wealthy town in 1521. Probably the Malays
came directly from the Malay Peninsula, but they must have
mixed largely with the Kadayan, Milanau and other coastal
people. The Sarawak and Brunei Malays are probably
mainly coastal Borneans with some Malay blood, but they
have absorbed the Malay culture, spirit and religion.
From the sociological point of view the Punan, living by
the chase and on exploitation of jungle produce, represent the
lowest grade of culture in Borneo. Without
social organisation they are alike incapable of real ""^^ary.
endemic improvement or of seriously affecting other peoples.
The purely agricultural tribes that cultivate padi on the low
hills or in the swamps form the next social stratum. These
indigenous tillers of the soil have been hard pressed by various
swarms of foreigners.
The Kenyah-Kayan migration was that of a people of
a slightly higher grade of culture. They were agriculturalists,
but the social organisation was firmer and they were probably
• superior in physique. If they introduced iron weapons, this
would give them an enormous advantage. These immigrant
agricultural artisans, directed by powerful chiefs, had no
difficulty in taking possession of the most desirable land.
From an opposite point of the compass in early times
234 Man : Past and Present [ch.
came another agricultural people who strangely enough have
strong individualistic tendencies, the usually peaceable habits
of tillers of the soil having been complicated by a lust for
heads and other warlike propensities. But the Iban do not
appear to have gained much against the Kenyah and Kayan.
Conquest implies -a strong leader, obedience to authority and
concerted action. The Iban appear to be formidable only
when led and organised by Europeans.
The Malay was of a yet higher social type. His political
organisation was well established, and he. had the advantage
of religious enthusiasm, for Islam has no small share in the
expansion of the Malay. He is a trader, and still more an
exploiter, having a sporting element in his character not
altogether compatible with steady trade. Then appeared on
the scene the Anglo-Saxon overlord. The quality of firmness
combined with, justice made itself felt. At times the lower
social types hurled themselves, but in vain, agaihst the
instrument that had been forged and tempered in a similar
turmoil of Iberian, Celt, Angle and Viking in Northern
Europe. Now they acknowledge that safety of life and
property and almost complete liberty are fully worth the very
small price that they have to pay for them\
The cult of omen animals, most frequently birds, is
indigenous to Borneo. These are possessed with the spirit
„ ,. . of certain invisible beings above, and bear their
Religion. 1-11 1
names, and are mvoked to secure good crops,
freedom from accident, victory in war, profit in exchange
skill in discourse and cleverness in all native craft. The
Iban have a belief in Ngardng or spirit-helpers, somewhat
resembling that of the Manitu of North America. The
Ngarong is the spirit of a dead relative who visits a dreamer,
who afterwards searches for the outward and visible sign of
his spiritual protector, and finds it in some form, perhaps
a natural object, or some one animal, henceforth held in
special respect I
In Sumatra there occur some remains of Hindu temples',
' A. C. Haddon, Head-Hunters, Black, White and Brown, 1901, pp. 327-8.
^ For further literature on Borneo see W. H. Furness, The Home-life of the
Borneo Head-Hunters, 1902 ; A. W. Nieuwenhuis, Quer durch Borneo, 1904 ;
E. H. Gomes, Seventeen Years among the Sea-Dyaks of Borneo, 191 1 ; C. Hose and
W. McDougall, yo«^72. Anthr. Inst., xxxi. 1901, and The Pagan Tribes of Borneo^
1912.
^ Not only in the southern districts for centuries subject to Javanese influences,
but also in Battaland, where they were first discovered by H. von Rosenberg in
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 235
as well as other mysterious monuments in the Passumah lands
inland from Benkulen, relics of a former culture, which goes
back to prehistoric times. They take the form g^^iy y^^^ ^^^
of huge monoliths, which are roughly shaped to his Works in
the likeness of human figures, with strange Sumatra,
features very different from the Malay or Hindu types. The
present Sarawi natives of the district, who would be quite
incapable of executing such works, know nothing of their
origin, and attribute them to certain legendary beings who
formerly wandered over the land, turning all their enemies
into stone. Further research may possibly discover some
connection between these relics of a forgotten past and the
numerous prehistoric monuments of Easter Island and other
places in the Pacific Ocean. Of all the Indonesian peoples
still surviving in Malaysia, none present so many
points of contact with the Eastern Polynesians, '^^^i^!^^'^
as do the natives of the Mentawi Islands which
skirt the south-west coast of Sumatra. " On a closer inspection
of the inhabitants the attentive observer at once perceives that
the Mentawi natives have but little in common with the peoples
and tribes of the neighbouring islands, and that as regards
physical appearance, speech, customs, and usages they stand
almost entirely apart. They bear 6uch a decided stamp of
a Polynesian tribe that one feels far more inclined to compare
them with the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands\"
The survival of an Indonesian group on the western
verge of Malaysia is all the more remarkable since the Nias
islanders, a little farther north, are of Mongol stock, like most
if not all of the inhabitants of the Sumatran mainland. Here
the typical Malays of the central districts (Menangkabau,
Korinchi, and Siak) merge southwards in the Javanese and
mixed Malayo- Javanese peoples of the Rejang, Hijjdu
Palembang, and Lampong districts. Although influences.
1853, and figured and described in Der Malayische Archipel, Leipzig, 1878, Vol. i.
p. 27 sq. " Nach ihrer Form und ihren Bildwerken zu urtheilen, waren die
Gebaude Tempel, worin der Buddha-Kultus gefeiert wurde" (p. 28). ■ These are
all the more interesting since Hindu ruins are otherwise rare in Sumatra, where
there is nothing comparable to the stupendous monuments of Central and East
Java.
^ Von Rosenberg, op. dt. Vol. I. p. 189. Amongst the points of close resemblance
may be mentioned the outriggers, for which Mentawi has the same word {abak) as
the Samoan {va'r= vaka) ; the funeral rites ; taboo ; the facial expression ; and the
language, in which the numerical systems are identical ; cf. Ment. limongapula
with Sam. limagafulu, the Malay being limapulah (fifty), where the Sam. infix ga
(absent in Malay) is pronounced gna, exactly as in Ment.
236 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Muhammadans probably since the thirteenth century, all these
peoples had been early brought under Hindu influences by
missionaries and even settlers from Java, and these influences
are still apparent in many of the customs, popular traditions,
languages, and letters of the South Sumatran settled com-
munities. Thus the Lampongs, despite their profession of
Indian Origin of Islam, employ, not the Arabic characters, like
the Malaysian the Malays proper, but a script derived from the
Alphabets. peculiar Javanese writing system. This system
itself, originally introduced from India probably over 2000 years
ago, is based on some early forms of the Devanagari, such as
those occurring in the rock inscriptions of the famous Buddhist
king As'oka (third century b.c.)\ From Java, which is now
shown beyond doubt to be the true centre of dispersion^ the
parent alphabet was under Hindu influences diffused in pre-
Muhammadan times throughout Malaysia, from Sumatra to
the Philippines.
But the thinly-spread Indo-Javanese culture, in few places
penetrating much below the surface, received a rude shock
from the Muhammadan irruption, its natural development
being almost everywhere arrested, or else either effaced or
displaced by Islam. No trace can any longer be detected of
graphic signs in Borneo,' where the aborigines have retained
the savage state even in those southern districts where
Buddhism or Brahmanism had certainly been propagated
long before the arrival of the Muhammadan Malays. But
elsewhere the Javanese stock alphabet has shown extraordinary
vitality, persisting under diverse forms down to the present
day, not only amongst the semi-civilised Mussulman peoples,
such as the Sumatran Rejangs^, Korinchi, and Lampongs, the
Bugis and Mangkassaras of Celebes, and the (now Christian)
' See Fr. Miiller, Ueber den Ursprung der Schrift der Malaiischen Volker,
Vienna, 1865 ; and my Appendix to Stanford's Australasia, First Series, 1879,
p. 624.
2 Die Mangianenschrift von Mindoro, herausgegeben von A. B. Meyer u.
A. Sckadenberg, sipeciell bearbeitet von W. Foy, Dresden, 1895; see also my
remarks in Journ. Anthr. Inst. 1896, p. 277 sq.
' The Rejang, which certainly belongs to the same Indo-Javanese system as all
the other Malaysian alphabets, has been regarded by Sayce and Renan as " pure
Phoenician," while Neubauer has compared it with that current in the fourth and
fifth centuries B.C. The suggestion that it may have been introduced by the
Phoenician crews of Alexander's admiral, Nearchus {Archaeol. Oxon. 1895, No. 6),
could hot have been made by anyone aware of its close connection with the
Lampong of South, and the Batta of North Sumatra (see also Prof. Kern, Globus,
70, p. 116).
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 237
Tagalogs and Visayas of the Philippines, but even amongst
the somewhat rude and pagan Palawan natives, the wild
Manguianes of Mindoro, and the cannibal Battas' of North
Sumatra,
These Battas, however, despite their undoubted canni-
balism ^ cannot be called savages, at least without some
reserve. They are skilful stock-breeders and -phe Battas—
agriculturists, raising fine crops of maize and Cultured
rice ; they dwell together in large, settled Cannibals,
communities with an organised government, hereditary chiefs,
popular assemblies, and a written civil and penal code. There
is even an effective postal system, which utilises for letter-
boxes the hollow tree-trunks at all the cross-roads, • and is
largely patronised by the young men and women, all of
whom read and write, and carry on an animated correspondence
in their degraded Devanagari script, which is written on
palm-leaves in vertical lines running upwards and from right
to left. The Battas also excel in several industries, such as
pottery, weaving, jewellery, iron work, and house-building,
their picturesque dwellings, which resemble Swiss chalets,
rising to two stories above the ground-floor reserved for the
live stock. For these arts they are no doubt largely indebted
to their Hindu teachers, from whom also they have inherited
some of their religious ideas, such as the triune deity — Creator,
Preserver, and Destroyer — besides other inferior divinities
collectively called diebata, a modified form of the Indian
devatP.
1 Sing. Batta, pi. Battak, hence the current form Battaks is a solecism, and we
should write either Battas or Battak. Lassen derives the word from the Sanskrit
ffMta, " savage."
2 Again confirmed by Volz and H. veil Autenrieth, who explored Battaland
early in 1898, and penetrated to the territory of the " Cannibal Pakpaks" {Geogr.
Journ., June, 1898, p. 672) ; not however "for the first time," as here stated. The
Pakpaks had already been visited in 1853 by Von Rosenberg, who found cannibalism
so prevalent that "Niemand Anstand nimmt das essen von Menschenfieisch
einzugestehen " (pp. cit. i. p. 56).
^ It is interesting to note that by the aid of the Lampong alphabet. South
Sumatra, John Mathew reads the word Daibattah in the legend on the head-dress
of a gigantic figure seen by Sir George Grey on the roof of a cave on the Glenelg
river. North-west Australia ("The Cave Paintings of Australia," etc., mjourn. Anthr.
Inst. 1894, p. 44 sq.). He quotes from Coleman's Mythology of the Hindus the
statement that "the Battas of Sumatra believe in the existence of one supreme
being, whom they name Debati Hasi Asi. Since completing the work of creation
they suppose him to have remained perfectly quiescent, having wholly committed
the government to his three sons, who do not govern in person, but by vakeels or
proxies." Here is possibly another confirmation of the view that early Malayan
migrations or expeditions, some even to Australia, took place in pre-Muhammadan
times, long before the rise and diffusion of the Orang-Maliyu in the Archipelago.
238 Man : Past and Present [ch.
In the strangest contrast to these survivals of a foreign
culture which had probably never struck very deep roots,
stand the savage survivals from still more ancient times.
Conspicuous amongst these are the cannibal practices, which
if not now univer-sal still take some peculiarly revolting forms.
Thus captives and criminals are, under certain circumstances,
.. .. condemned to be eaten alive, and the same fate
Cannibalism. • 1 r 1 ■ • 1 /-
IS or was reserved for those mcapacitated for
work by age or infirmities. When the time came, we are
told by the early European observers and by the reports of
the Arabs, the "grandfathers" voluntarily suspended them-
selves by their arms from an overhanging branch, while friends
and neighbours danced round and round, shouting, " when the
fruit is ripe it falls." And when it did fall, that is, as soon as
it could hold on no longer, the company fell upon it with their
krisses, hacking it to pieces, and devouring the remains
seasoned with lime-juice, for such feasts were generally held
when the limes were ripe^
Grouped chiefly round about Lake Toba, the Battas occupy
a very wide domain, stretching south to about the parallel of
_ Mount Ophir, and bordering northwards on the
territory of the Achin people. ' These valiant
natives, who have till recently stoutly maintained their
political independence against the Dutch, were also at one
time Hinduized, as is evident from many of their traditions,
their Malayan language largely charged with Sanskrit terms,
and even their physical appearance, suggesting a considerable
admixture of Hindu as well as of Arab blood,
ary ecor s. ^^\^ jj^g Arab traders and settlers came the
Koran, and the Achinese people have been not over-zealous
followers of the Prophet since the close of the twelfth century.
The Muhammadan State, founded in 1205, acquired a '
dominant position in the Archipelago early in the sixteenth
century, when it ruled over about half of Sumatra, exacted
tribute from many vassal princes, maintained powerful arma-
ments by land and sea, and entered into political and
commercial relations with Egypt, Japan, and several European
States.
There are two somewhat distinct ethnical groups, the
Orang- Tunong of the uplands, a comparatively homogeneous
Malayan people, and the mixed Orang-Barith of the lowlands,
^ Memoir of the Life etc. of Sir T. S. Raffles, by his widow, 1830.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 239
who are described by A. Lubbers' as taller than the average
Malay (5 feet 5 or 6 in.), also less round-headed (index 80-5),
with prominent nose, rather regular features, and muscular
frames ; but the complexion is darker than that of the Orang-
Malayu, a trait which has been attributed to a larger infusion
of Dravidian blood (Klings and Tamuls) from southern India.
The charge of cruelty and treachery brought against them by
the Dutch may be received with some reserve, such terms as
" patriot " and " rebel " being interchangeable according to
the standpoints from which they are considered. In any case
no one denies them the virtues of valour and love of freedom,
with which are associated industrious habits and a remarkable
aptitude for such handicrafts as metal work, jewellery, weaving,
and ship-building. The Achinese do not appear to be very
strict Muhammadans ; polygamy is little practised, i^xsm and
their women are free to go abroad unveiled, nor Hindu Re-
are they condemned to the seclusion of the harem, mimscences.
and a pleasing survival from Buddhist times is the Kanduri,
a solemn feast, in which the poor are permitted to share.
Another reminiscence of Hindu philosophy may perhaps have
been an outburst of religious fervour, which took the form of
a pantheistic creed, and was so zealously preached, that it had
to be stamped out with fire and sword by the dominant
Moslem monotheists'"'.
Since the French occupation of Madagascar, the Malagasy
problem has naturally been revived. But it may Ethnical
be regretted that so much time and talent have Relations in
been spent on a somewhat thrashed-out question 'Madagascar,
by a number of writers, who did not first take the trouble to
read Up the literature of the subject.
By what race Madagascar was first peopled it is no longer
possible to say. The local reports or traditions of primitive
peoples, either extinct or still surviving in the
interior, belong rather to the sphere of Malagasy peoples""*^
folklore than to that of ethnological research.
In these reports mention is frequently made of the Kimos,
said to be now or formerly living in the Bara country, and of
the Vazimbas, who are by some supposed to have been Gallas
[Ba-Simba) — though they had no knowledge of iron — whose
graves are supposed to be certain monolithic monuments
1 "Anthropologic des Atjehs," in Rev. Med., Batavia, xxx. 6, 1890.
2 See C. Snouck Hurgronje, The Achenese^ 1906.
240 Man : Past and Present [ch.
which take the form of menhirs disposed in circles, and are
believed by the present inhabitants of the land to be still
haunted by evil spirits, that is, the ghosts of the long extinct
Vazimbas.
Much of the confusion prevalent regarding the present
ethnical relations may be avoided if certain points (ably
summarised by. T. A. Joyce') are borne in mind.
Pm^grants. ^^e greater part of the population is negroid ;
the language spoken over the whole of the
island- and many institutions and customs are Malayo-
Polynesian. A small section (Antimerina commonly called
Hovas) — forming the dominant people in the nineteenth
century — is of fairly pure Malay (or Javanese) blood, but is
composed of sixteenth-century immigrants, whereas the
language belongs to a very early branch of the Malayo-
Polynesian (Austronesian) family. It would be natural to
suppose that the negroid element was African^
Element ^^"^ '''^ later times large numbers of Africans
have been brought over by Arabs and other
slavers; but there are several objections to this view. In
the first place, the natives of the neighbouring coast are not
seamen, and the voyage to Madagascar offers peculiar
difficulties owing to the strong currents. In the second place,
it seems impossible that the first inhabitants, supposing them
to be African, should have abandoned their own language
in favour of one introduced by a small minority of immigrants;
the few Bantu words found in Madagascar may well have
been adopted from the slaves. In the third place, the culture
exhibits no distinctively African features, but is far more akin
to that of south-east Asia. There is ■ much to be said, there-
fore, for the view that the earliest and negroid inhabitants of
Madagascar were Oceanic negroids, who have always been
known as expert seamen.
Since the coming of the negroid population, which probably
arrived in very early days, various small bands of immigrants
or castaways have landed on the shores of Madagascar and
imposed themselves as reigning dynasties on the surrounding
villages, each thus forming the nucleus of what now appears
as a tribe. Among these were immigrants from Arabia, and
' Handbook to the Ethnograj>hical Collections, British Museum, 1910, p. 245.
^ This opinion is still held by many competent authorities. Cf. J. Deniker, The
Races of Man, 1900, p. 469 ff.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 241
J. T. Last, who identifies Madagascar with the island of
Menuthias described by Arrian in the third
century a.d.\ suggests the "possibility ^hat ^'*''"' ^'*""'"''
Madagascar may have been reached by Arabs before the
Christian fera." This "possibility" is converted almost into
a certainty by the analysis of the Arabo- Malagasy terms
made by Dahle, who clearly shows that such terms "are
comparatively very few," and also "very ancient," in fact that,
as already suggested by Fleischer of Leipzig, many, perhaps
the majority of them, "may be traced back to Himyaritic
influence'," that is, not merely to pre-Muhammadan, but to
pre-Christian times, just like the Sanskritic elements in the
Oceanic tongpjes.
The evidence that Malagasy is itself one of these Oceanic
tongues, and not an offshoot of the comparatively recent
standard Malay is overwhelming, and need hot
here detain us'. The diffusion of this Austro- £e Sf *a°l.
nesian language over the whole island — even
amongst distinctly Negroid Bantu populations, such as the
Betsileos and Tanalas — to the absolute exclusion of all other
forms of speech, is an extraordinary linguistic phenomenon
more easily proved than explained. There are, of course,
provincialisms and even what may be called local dialects,
such as that of the Antankarana people at the northern
extremity of the island who, although commonly included in
the large division of the western Sakalavas, really form
a separate ethnical group, speaking a somewhat marked
variety of Malagasy. But even this differs much less, from
the normal form than might be supposed by comparing, for
instance, such a term as maso-mahamay, sun, with the Hova
maso-andro, where maso in both means " eye," makamay in
^ " His remarks wpuld scarcely apply to any other island off the East African
coast, his descriptions of the rivers, crocodiles, land-tortoises, canoes, sea-turtles,
and wicker-work weirs for catching fish, apply exactly to Madagascar of the present
day, but to none of the other islands" (journ. Anthr. Inst. 1896, p. 47).
^ Loc. cit. p. "JT. Thus, to take the days of the week, we have : — Malagasy
alahady, alatsinainy ; old Arab. (Himyar.) al-dhadu, al-itsndni ; modern Arab.
el-dhad, el-etndn (Sunday, Monday), where the Mai. forms are obviously derived
not from the present, but from the ancient Arabic. From all this it seems
reasonable to infer that the early Semitic influences in Madagascar may be due to
the same Sabaean or Minaean peoples of South Arabia, to whom the Zimbabwe
monuments in the auriferous region south of the Zambesi were accredited by
Theodore Bent.
* Those who may still doubt should consult M. Aristide Marre, Les Affinitis de
la Langue J^algache, Leyden, 1884 ; Last's above quoted Paper in the Jotlrn.
Anthr. Inst, and R. H. Codrington's Melanesian Languages, Oxford, 1885.
■ K. 16
242 Man: Past and Present [ch.
both =;" burning," and andro in both ="day." Thus the
only difference is that one calls the sun " burning eye," while
the Hovas call it the "day's eye," as do so many peoples in
Malaysia^
So also the fish^eating Anorohoro people, a brfinch of the
Sihgcnakas in the Alaotra valley, are said to have "quite
a different dialect from them^" But the state-
GothSnftes ment need not be taken too seriously, because
these rustic fisherfolk, who may be called the
Gothamites of Madagascar, are supposed, by their scornful
neighbours, to do everything " contrariwise." Of them it is
told that once when cooking eggs they boiled them for hours
to make them soft, and then finding they got harder and
harder threw them away as unfit for food. Others having
only one slave, who could not paddle the canoe properly, cut
him in two, putting one half at the prow, the other at the
stern, and" were surprised at the result. It was not to be. ex-
pected that such simpletons should speak Malagasy properly,
which nevertheless is spoken with surprising uniformity by all
the Malayan and Negro or Negroid peoples alike.
In Madagascar, however, the fusion of the two races is
far less complete than is commonly supposed. Various shades
Partial Fusion *-*^ transition between the two extremes are no
of the Malayan doubt presented by the Sakalavas of the westi
and Negro ^nd the B^tsimisarakas, Sitanakas, and others
of the east coast. But, strange to say, on the
central tableland the two seem to stand almost completely
apart, so that here the politically dominant Hovas still present
all the essential characteristics of the Oceanic Mongol, while
their southern neighbours, the Betsileos, as well as the Tanalas
and Idaras, are described as "African pure and simple, allied
to the south-eastern tribes of that continent'."
Specially remarkable is the account given by a careful
observer, G. A, Shaw, of the Betsileos, whose "average
height is not less than six feet for the men, and a few inches
less for the women. They are large-boned and muscular, and
their colour is several degrees darker than that of the Hovas,
approaching very close to a black. The forehead is low and
' Malay mata-ari; Bajau tnata-lon; Menado mata-rou; Salayer mafo-allo,
all meaning literally "da/s eye" {mata, OTfl:if(?= Malagasy maso=eye ; ari, alie,
etc. = day,' with normal interchange of rand /). ' ■
2 J. Sibree, Antananarivo Annual, 1877, p. 62.
3 W. p. Cowan, The Bara Land, Antananarivo, 1881, p. 67.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 243
broad, the nose flatter, and the lips thickef. than those of their
conquerors, whilst their hair is invariably crisp and woolly.
No pure Betsileo is to be met with having the smooth long
hair of the Hovas. In this, as in other points, there is a very
clear departure from the Malayan type, and a close approxi-
mation to the Negro races of the adjacent continent'."
Now compare these brawny negroid giants with the wiry
undersized Malayan Hovas. As described by A, Vouchereau^
their type closely resembles that of the Javanese „ ^
1 11 • 1 1-11 1 HovaType.
— short stature, yellowish or light leather com-
plexion, long, black, smooth and rather coarse hair, round
head (85 "2 5), flat and straight forehead, flat face, prominent
cheek-bones, small straight nose, tolerably wide nostrils, small
black and slightly oblique eyes, rather thick lips, slim lithe-
some figure, small extremities, dull restless expression, cranial
capacity 15 16 c.c, superior to both Negro and Sakalava*.
Except in respect of this high cranial capacity, the measure-
ments of three Malagasy skulls in the Cambridge University
Anatomical Museum, studied by W. L. H. Duckworth V
correspond fairly well with these descriptions. Thus the
cephalic index of the reputed Betsimisaraka (Negroid) and
that of the Betsileo (Negro) are respectively 71 and 72/4,
while that of the Hova is 82 "i ; the first two, therefore, are
long-headed, the third round-headed, as we should expect.
But the cubic capacity of the Hova (presumably Mongoloid)
is only I3r5 as compared with 1450 and 1480 The Black
of two others, presumably African Negroes. Element from
Duckworth discusses the question whether the ^^"'^•
black element in Madagascar is of African or Oceanic (Mela-
nesian- Papuan) origin, about which much diversity of opinion
still prevails, and on the evidence of the few cranial specimens
available he decides in favour of the African.
1 "The Betsileo, Country and People," in Antananarivo Annual, 1877, p. 79.
2 "Note sur I'Anthropologie de Madagascar," etc., in V Anthropologie, 1897,
p. 149 sq.
3 The contrast between the two elements is drawn in a few bold strokes by
Mrs Z. Colvile, who found that in the east coast districts the natives (Betsimisarakas
chiefly) were black " with short, curly hair and negro type of feature, and showed
every sign of being of African origin. The Hovas, on the contrary, bad coniplexions
little darker than those of -the peasantry of Southern Europe, straight black hair,
rather sharp features, slim figures, and were unmistakably of the Asiatic type"
{Round the Black Maris Garden, 1893, p. 143)- But even amongst the Hovas a
strain of black blood is betrayed in the generally rather thick lips, and among the
lower classes in the wavy hair and dark skin.
* Journ. Anthr. Inst, 1897, p. 285 sq.
16 — 2
244 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Despite the low cubic capacity of Duckworth's Hova,
the mental powers of these, and indeed of the Malagasy
Mental generally, are far from despicable. Before the
QuaUtiesof French occupation the London Missionary
the Malagasy. Society had succeeded in disseminating Christian ^
principles and even some degree of culture among considerable
numbers both in the Hova capital and surrounding districts.
The local press had been kept going by native
Chr^tianitr cpmpositors, who had issued quite an extensive
literature both in Malagasy and English. Agri-
cultural and industrial methods had been improved, some
engineering works attempted, and the Hova craftsmen had
learnt to build but not to complete houses in the European
style, because, although they could master European processes,
they could not, Christians though they were, get the better
of the old superstitions, one of which is that the owner of a
house always dies within a year of its completion. Longevity
is therefore ensured by not completing it, with the curious
result that the whole city looks unfinished or dilapidated. In
the house where Mrs Colvile stayed, "one window was
framed and glazed, the other nailed up with rough boards ;
part of the stair-banister had no top-rail ; outside only a portion
of the roof had been tiled ; and so on throughout\"
The culture has been thus summarised by T. A. Joyce^
Clothing is entirely vegetable, and the Malay sarong is found
„ . throughout the east • bark-cloth in the south-east
and west. Hairdressing varies considerably, and
among the Bara and Sakalava is often elaborate. Silver
ornaments are found amongst the Antimerina and some other
eastern tribes, made chiefly from European coins dating from
the sixteenth century. Circumcision is universal. In the
east the tribes are chiefly agricultural ; in the north, west and
south, pastoral. Fishing is important among those tribes
situated on coast, lake or river. Houses are all rectangular
and pile-dwellings are found locally. Rice is the staple crop
and the cattle are of the humped variety. The Antimerina
excel the rest in all crafts. Weaving, basket-work (woven
variety) and iron-working are all good ; the use of iron is said
to have been unknown to the Bara and Vazimba until com-
paratively recent times. Pottery is poor. Carvings in the
1 Journ. Antkr. Inst. 1897, p. 153.
2 Handbook to the Ethnological Collection, British Museum, 1910, pp. 246-7.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 245
round (men and animals) are found amongst the Sakalava
and Bara, in relief (arabesques, etc.) among the Betsileo and
others. Before the introduction of firearms, the spear was
the universal weapon ; bows are rare and possibly of late
introduction ; slings and the blowgun are also found. Shields
are circular, made of wood covered with hide. The early
system of government was patriarchal, and villages were
independent ; the later immigrants introduced a system of
feudal monarchy with themselves as a ruling caste. Thus
the Antimerina have three main castes ; Andriana or nobles
{i.e. pure-blooded descendants of the conquerors), Hova, or
freemen (descendants of the incorporated Vazimba more or
less mixed with the conquerors), and Andevo or slaves. The
king was regarded almost as a god. An institution thoroughly
suggestive of Malayo- Polynesian sociology is that oi fadi or
tabu, which enters into every sphere of human activity. An
indefinite creator-god was recognized, but more important
were a number of spirits and fetishes, the latter with definite
functions. Signs of tree worship and of belief in transmigration
are sporadic. At the present time, half the population of the
island is, at least nominally, Christian.
A good deal of fancy is displayed in the oral literature,
comprising histories, or at least legends, fables, songs, riddles,
and a great mass of folklore, much of which has
already been rescued from oblivion by the PiJUore^
" Malagasy Folklore Society." Some of the
stories present the usual analogies to others in widely separated
lands, stories which seem to be perennial, and to crop up
wherever the surface is a little disturbed by investigators.
One of those in Dahle's extensive collection, entitled the
"History of Andrianarisainaboniamasoboniamanoro" might
be described as a variant of our " Beauty and the Beast."
Besides this prince with the long name, called Bonia " for
short," there is a princess " Golden Beauty," both being of
miraculous birth, but the latter a cripple and deformed, until
found and wedded by Bonia. Then she is so transfigured that
the "Beast" is captivated and contrives to carry her off.
Thereupon follows an extraordinary series of adventures,
resulting of course in the rescue of Golden Beauty by Bonia,
when everything ends happily, not only for the two lovers,
but for all other people whose wives had also been abducted.
These are now restored to their husbands by the hero, who
246 Man : Past and Present [ch.
vanquishes atid slays the monster in a fierce fight, just as in
our nursery tales of knights and dragons.
In the Philippines, where the ethnical confusion is probably
greater than in any other part of Malaysia, the great bulk of
the inhabitants^ajggeaLto be of Indonesian anH^
NatiS'''^'''"^ protSalayan stocks. ""^Except iiTthe southern
IslanSroO^ mdanao, which is still mainly Muham-
madan or heatli^Sir most of tKe' settled populations have long
een nommal Koman Catholics under a curious theocratic
administration, m which the true rulers are not the civil
functionaries, but the priests, and especially the regular clergy\
Gne result has been over three centuries of unstable political
and social relations, ending in the occupation of the archipelago
by the United States (1898). Another, with which we are
here more concerned, has been such a transformation of the
subtle Malayan character that those who have lived longest
amongst the natives pronounce their temperament unfathom-
able. Having to comply outwardly with the numerous
Christian observances, they seek relief in two ways, first by
making the most of the Catholic ceremonial and turning the
many feast-days of the calendar into occasions of revelry and
dissipation, connived at if not even shared in by the padres' ;
secondly by secretly cherishing the old beliefs and disguising
their_ true feelings, ^ untiT~T^''^portunity~is' presented of
throwing offthe mask^rid.declaring theniselvesTn" their truE
"coloursT" A Franciscan friar, who haH*"spent half his life*
amongst them, left on record that "the native is an incom-
prehensible phenomenon, the mainspring of whose line of
thought and the guiding motive of whose actions have never
yet been, and perhaps never will be, discovered. ,A native,
-will serve a master satisfactorily for years, and then su3denly
abscond, or commit some such hideous crime as conniving
with a brigand band to murder the family and pillage the
house'."
In fact nobody can ever tell what a Tagal, and especially
a Visaya, will do at any moment. His character is a
succession of surprises ; " the experience of each year brings
■■ Augustinians, Dominicans, Recollects (Friars Minor of the Strict Observance),
and Jesuits.
^ In fact there is no great parade of morality on either side, nor is it any
.reflection on a woman to have children by the priest.
^ J. Foreman, The Philippine Islands, 1899, p. 181.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 247
one to form fresh conclusions, and the most exact definition
of such a kaleidoscopic creature is, after all, hypothetical."
After centuries of misfule, it was perhaps not surprising"
that no kind of sympathy was developed between the natives
and the whites. Foreman tells us that everywhere in the
archipelago he found mothers teaching their little ones to
look on their white rulers as demoniacal beings, evil spirits,
or at least something to be dreaded. " If a child cries, it is
hushed by the exclamation, Castila ! (Spaniard) ; if a white
man approaches a native dwelling, the watchword always is
Castila ! and the children hasten to retreat from the dreadful
object."
For administrative purposes the natives were classed
in three social divisions — Indios, Injieles, and Moras — which,
as aptly remarked by F. H. H. Guillemard,
is "an ecclesiastical rather than a scientific S'oms^""^'
classification \" The Indios were the Christian-
ized and more or less cultured populations of all the towns
and of the settled agricultural districts, speaking ..
a distinct Malayo- Polynesian language of much
more archaic type than the standard Malay. According to
the census of 1903 the total population of the islands was
7,635,428, of whom nearly 7,000,000 were classed as civilised,
and the rest as wild, including 23,000 Negritoes {Aeta, see
p. 156). At the time of the Spanish occupation in the six-
teenth century the Visayas of the central islands and part of
Mindanao were the most advanced among the native tribes,
but this distinction is now claimed for the Tagalogs, who form
the bulk of the population in Manila and other parts of Luzon,
and also in Mindanao, and whose language is gradually
displacing other dialects throughout the archipelago. Other
civilised tribes are the Ilocano, Bicol, Pangasinan, Pampangan
and Cagayan, all of Luzon. Less civilised tribes are the
Manobo, Mandaya, Subano and Bagobo of Mindanao, the
Bukidnon of Mindanao and the central islands, the Tagbanua
and Batak of Palawan, and the Igorots of Luzon, ^some of
whom are industrious farmers, while among others, J5ead-
hunting is still prevalent. These have been described by
A. E. Jenks in a monographs The head form is very
> Australasia, 1894, 11. p. 49.
2 The Bontoc Igorot, Eth. Survey Pub. Vol. i. 1904. Further information
concerning the Philippines is published in the Census Report in 1903, 1905;
248 Man : Past and Present [ch.
variable. Of 32 men measured* by Jenks the extremes of
cephalic index were 91 '48 and 67"48. The.staturg is always
^QW., averaging i'62 m. (5 ft. 4 in.) but with an appearance of
greater height. The hair is* black, straight, lank^ marsp_and
abundant but " I doubt whether to-day an entire tribe of
peHectTy" straight-haired primitive Malayan people exists in
the archipelago'."
Under MorosJ(' Moors ") are comprised the Muhammadans
exclusiveTy, some of whbrii are Malayans (cKieflyln Mindanao,
'~Zr~,. Basilan, and Palawan), some true Malays (chiefly
The Moros. . i o i i.- i "T" iv/r " r^i.
m the Sulu archipelago). Many of these are
still independent, and not a few, if not actually wild, are
certainly but little removed from the savage state. Yet, like
the Sumatran ,Pattas, they possess a^lyipwledge of letters, the
Sulu people using the Arabic script, as do all the Orang-
MalayuTwhile the Palawan natives employ a variant of the
Devanagari prototype derived directly from the Javanese, as
above explained. They number nearly 280,000, of whom
more than one half are in Mindanao, and they form the bulk
of the population in some of the islands of the Sulu archipelago.
Some of these Sulu people, till lately fierce sea-rovers, get
baptized now and then ; but, says Foreman, " they appeared
to be as much Christian as I was Mussulman^" They keep
their harems all the same, and when asked how many gods
there are, answer "four," presumably Allah plus the Athanasian
Trinity. So the Ba-Fiots of Angola add crucifying to their
"penal code," and so in King M'tesa's time the Baganda
scrupulously kept two weekly holidays, the Mussulman Friday,
and the Christian Sunday. Lofty creeds superimposed too
rapidly on primitive beliefs are apt to get " mixed " ; they
need time to become assimilated.
That in the aborigines of Formosa are represented both
Mongol (proto-Malayan) and Indonesian elements may now
probably be accepted as an established fact. The long-
Malayans and standing reports of Negritoes also, like the
Indonesians Philippine Aeta, have never been confirmed,
in Formosa. ^^^ j^^y. j^g dismissed from the present con-
sideration. Probably five-sixths of the whole population are
Ethnological Survey Publications, 1904- ; C. A. Koeze, Crania Ethnicd Philip-
pinica, ein Beitrag zur Anthropologie der Philippinen, igoi- ; Henry Gannett,
People of the Philippines, 1904 ; R. B. Bean, The Racial Anatomy of the Philippine
Islanders, 1910 ; Fay-Cooper Cole, Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao, 1913.
' A. E. Jenks, The Bontoc Tsorot, 1904, p. 41. . /* Op. cit. p. 247.
^ii] The Oceanic Mongols 249
Chinese immigrants, amongst whom are a large number of
Hakkas and Hok-los from the provinces of Fo-
Kien and Kwang-tung\ They occupy all the Stie^s'""'
cultivated western, lowlands, which from the
ethnological standpoint may be regarded as a seaward outpost
of the Chinese mainland. The rest of the island, that is, the
central highlands and precipitous eastern slopes, may similarly
be looked on as a north-eastern outpost of Malaysia, being
almost exclusively held by Indonesian and Malayan aborigines
from Malaysia (especially the Philippines), with possibly some
early intruders both from Polynesia and from the north
(Japan). AH are classed by the Chinese settlers after their
usual fashion in three social divisions : —
1. The Pepohwans of the plains, who although called
"Barbarians," are sedentary agriculturists and quite as civilised
as their Chinese neighbours themselves, with whom they are
gradually merging in a single ethnical group. The Pepohwans
are described by P. Ibis as a fine race, very tall, and "fetish-
ists," though the mysterious rites are left to the women. Their
national feasts, dances, and other usages forcibly recall those
of the Micronesians and Polynesians. They may therefore,
perhaps, be regarded as early immigrants from the South Sea
Islands, distinct in every respect from the true aborigines.
2. The Sekhwans, " Tame Savages V' who are also settled
agriculturists, subject to the Chinese (since 1895 to the
Japanese) administration, but physically distinct from all the
other Formosans — light complexion, large mouth, thick lips,
remarkably long and prominent teeth, weak constitution.
P. Ibis suspects a strain of Dutch blood dating from the
seventeenth century. This is confirmed by the old books and
other curious documents found amongst them, which have given
rise to so much speculation, and, it. may be added, some
mystification, regarding a peculiar writing system and a
literature formerly current amongst the Formosan aborigines'.
' Girard de Rialle, Jiev. d' Anthrop., Jan. and April, 1885. These studies are
based largely on the data supplied by M. Paul Ibis and earlier travellers in the
island. Nothing better has since appeared except G. Taylor's valuable con-
tributions to the China Review (see below). The census of 1904 gave 2,860,574
Chinese, 51,770 Japanese and 104,334 aborigines.
2 Lit. "ripe barbarians" {barbares miirs. Ibis).
3 See facsimiles of bilingual and other MSS. from Formosa in T. de Lacouperie's
Formosa Notes on MSS., Laiiguages, and Races, Hertford, 1887. The whole
question is here fully discussed, though the author seems unable to arrive at any
definite conclusion even as to the bona or mala fides of the noted impostor George
Psalmanazar.
250 Man: Past and Present [ch.
3. The Chinhwans, "Green Barbarians" — ^that is, utter
savages — the true independent aborigines, of whom there are
an unknown number of tribes, but regarding whom the Chinese
possess but little definite information. Not so their Japanese
successors, one of whom, Kisak Tamai\ tells us that the
Chinhwans show a close resemblance to the Malays of the
Malay Peninsula and also to those of the Philippines, and in
some respects to the Japanese themselves. When dressed
like Japanese and mingling with Japanese women, they can
hardly be distinguished from them. The vendetta is still rife
amongst many of the ruder tribes, and such is their traditional
hatred of the Chinese intruders that no one can either be
tattooed or permitted to wear a bracelet until he has carried
off a Celestial head or two. In every household there is a
frame or bracket on which these heads are mounted, and
some of their warriors can proudly point to over seventy of
such trophies. It is a relief to hear that with their new
Japanese masters they have sworn friendship, these new rulers
of the land being their "brothers and sisters." The oath of
eternaj alliance is taken by digging a hole in the ground,
putting a stone in it, throwing earth at each other, then
covering the stone with the earth, all of which means that
" as the stone in the ground keeps sound, so do we keep our
word unbroken."
It is interesting to note that this Japanese ethnologists
remarks on the physical resemblances of the aborigines are
fully in accord with those of European observers.
Affinfties. Thus to Hamy "they recalled the Igorrotes of
North Luzon, as well as the Malays of Singa-
porel" G. Taylor also, who has visited several of the wildest
groups in the southern and eastern districts' ( Tipuns, Paiwans,
Diaramocks, Nickas, Amias and many others), traces some
"probably" to Japan (Tipuns); others to Malaysia (the cruel,
predatory Paiwan head-hunters) ; and others to the Liu-Kiu
archipelago (the Pepohwans now of Chinese speech). He
describes ,the Diaramocks as the most dreaded of all the
' Globus, 70, p. 93 sq.
2 "Les Races Malaiques," etc., in DAnthropologie, 1896.
* " The Aborigines of Formosa," in China Review, xiv. p. 198 sq., also xvi. No. 3
("A Ramble through Southern Formosa"). The services rendered by this intelligent
observer to Formosan ethnology deserve more g'eneral recognition than they have
hitherto received. See also the Report on the control of the Aborigines of Formosa,
Bureau of Aboriginal Affairs, Formosa, 191 1. •
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 251
southern groups, but doubts whether the charge of canni-
balism brought against them by their neighbours is quite
justified.
Whether the historical Malays from Singapore or else-
where, as above suggested, are really represented in Formosa
may be doubted, since no survivals either of Hindu or
Muhammadan rites appear to have been detected amongst
the aborigines. It is of course possible that they may have
reached the island at some remote time, and since relapsed
into savagery, from which the Orang-laut were never very
far removed. But in the absence of proof, it will be safer to.
regard all the wild tribes as partly of Indonesian, parriy of
proto-Malayan origin.
This view is also in conformity with the character of the
numerous Formosan dialects, whose afifinities are either with
the Gyarung and others of the Asiatic Indonesian
tongues, or else with the Austronesian organic Affimties*^
speech generally^ but not specially with any
particular member of that family, least of all with the com-
paratively recent standard Malay. Thus Arnold Schetelig
points out that only about a sixth part of the Formosan
vocabulary taken generally corresponds with modern Malay \
The analogies of all the rest must be sought in the various
branches of the Oceanic stock language, and in the Gyarung
and the non-Chinese tongues of Eastern China^ Formosa
thus presents a curious ethnical and linguistic connecting link
between the Continental and Oceanic populations.
In the Nicobar archipelago are distinguished two ethnical
groups, the coast people, i.e. the Nicobarese^ proper, and the
Shorn Pen, aborigines of the less accessible inland
districts in Great Nicobar. But the distinction Nicobarese.
appears to be rather social than racial, and we
may now conclude with E. H. Man that all the islanders
belong essentially to the Mongolic division, the inlanders
representing the pure type, the others being " descended from
' "Sprachen der UreinwoHner Formosa's," in Zeitschr.f. Volkerpsychologie, etc.,
V. p. 437 sq. This anthropologist found to his great surprise that, the Polynesian
and Maori skulls in the London College of Surgeons presented striking analogies
with those collected by himself in Formosa. Here at least is a remarkable harmony
between speech and physical characters.
* De Lacouperie, op. cit. p. 73.
3 The natives of course know nothing of this word, and speak of their island
homes as Mattai, a vague term applied equaiUy to land, country, village, and even
the whole world.
252 Man : Past and Present [ch.
a mongrel Malay stock, the crosses being probably in the
majority of cases with Burmese and occasionally with natives
of the opposite coast of Siam, and perchance also in remote
times with such of the Shom Pen as may have settled in
their midst'."
Among the numerous usages which point to an Indo-
Chinese and Oceanic connection are pile-dwellings ; the
chewing of betel, which appears to be here mixed with some
earthy substance causing a dental incrustation so thick as even
to prevent the closing of the lips ; distention of the ear-lobe
by wooden cylinders ; aversion from the use of milk ; and the
couvade, as amongst some Bornean Dayaks. The language,
which has an extraordinarily rich phonetic system (as many
as 25 consonantal and 35 vowel sounds), is polysyllabic and
untoned, like the Austronesian, and the type also seems to
resemble, the Oceanic more than the Continental Mongol'
subdivision. Mean height 5 ft. 3 in. (Shom Pen one inch
less) ; nose wide and flat ; eyes rather obliquely set ; cheek-
bones prominent ; features flat, though less so than in the
normal Malayan ; complexion mostly a yellowish or reddish
brown (Shom Pen dull brown) ; hair a dark rusty brown,
rarely quite black, straight, though not seldom wavy and even
ringletty, but Shom Pen generally quite straight.
On the other hand they approach nearer to the Burmese
in their mental characters; in their frank, independent spirit,
inquisitiveness, and kindness towards their women, who enjoy
complete social equality, as in Burma ; and lastly in their
universal belief in spirits called iwi or siya, who, like the nats
of Indo-China, cause sickness and death unless scared away
or appeased by offerings. Like the Burmese, also, they place
a piece of money in the mouth or against the cheek of a
corpse before burial, to. help in the other world.
One of the few industries is the manufacture of a peculiar
kind of rough painted pottery, which is absolutely confined to
the islet of Chowra, 5 miles north of Teressa. The reason of
this restriction is explained by a popular legend, according to
which in remote ages the Great Unknown decreed that, on
pain of sudden death, an earthquake, or some such calamity,
the making of earthenware was to be carried on only in
Chowra, and all the work of preparing the clay, moulding
^ "The Nicobar Islanders," in /<7ar«. Anthr. Inst. 1889, p. 354sq. Cf. C. B.
Kloss, In the Andamans and Nicobars, 1903.
vii] The Oceanic Mongols 253
and firing the pots, was to devolve on the women. Once, a
long time ago, one of these women, when on a visit in another
island, began, heedless of the divine injunction, to make a
vessel, and fell dead on the spot. Thus was confirmed the
tradition, and no attempt has since been made to infringe the
" Chowra monopoly'."
All things considered, it may be inferred that the archi-
pelago was originally occupied by primitive peoples of Malayan
stock now represented by the Shom Pen of Great Nicobar,
and was afterwards re-settled on the coastlands by Indo-
Chinese and Malayan intruders, who intermingled, and either
extirpated or absorbed, or else drove to the interior the first
occupants. Nicobar thus resembles Formosa in its inter-
mediate position between the continental and Oceanic Mongol
populations. Another point of analogy is the absence of
Negritoes from both of these insular areas, where anthropo-
logists had confidently anticipated the presence of a dark
element like that of the Andamanese and Philippine Aeta.
1 E. H. 'b/i.a.n, Jourtt. Anthr. Inst. 1894, p. 2t.
CHAPTER VIII
THE NORTHERN MONGOLS
Domain of the Mongolo-Turki Section — Early Contact with Caucasic Peoples^
Primitive Man in Siberia — and Mongoha — Early Man in Korea and Japan — ;
in Finland and East Europe — Early Man in Babylonia — The Sumerians — The
Akkadians — Babylonian Chronology — Elamite Origins — Historical Records —
Babylonian Religion — Social System — General Culture — The Mongols Proper
— Physical Type- — Ethnical and Administrative Divisions — Buddhism — The
Tunguses— Cradle and Type — Mental Characters — Shamanism — The Man-
chus — Origins and Early Records — Type — The Dauri — Mongolo-Turki Speech
— Language and Racial Characters— Mongol and Manchu Script — The Yuka-
ghirs — A Primitive Writing System — Chukchis and Koryaks — Chukchi and
Eskimo Relations — -Type and Social State — Koryaks and Kamchadales— The
Gilyaks — The Koreans— Ethnical Elements — Korean Origins and Records —
Religion — The Korean Script — The Japanese — Origins — Constituent Elements
— The Japanese Type — ^Japanese and Liu-Kiu Islanders — Their Languages
and Religions — Cult of the Dead — Shintoism and Buddhism.
Conspectus.
Present Range. The Northern Hemisphere from Japan
to Lapland, and from, the Arctic Ocean to the Great Wall and
Tibet; Aralo-Caspian Basin; Parts of Irania ;
Asia Minor; Parts of East Russia, Balkan
Peninsula, and Lower Danube.
Hair, generally the same as South Mongol, but in Mongolo-
Caucasic transitional groups brown, chestnut, and even towy
or light flaxen, also wavy and ringletty ; beard
Characters 'mostly absent except amongst the Western Turks
and some Koreans.
Colour, light or dirty yellowish amongst all true Mongols
and Siberians; very variable (white, sallow, swarthy^ in the
transitional groups {Finns, Lapps, Magyars, Bulgars, Western,
Turks), and many Manchus and Koreans ; in Japan the un-
exposed parts of the body also white.
Skull, highly brachycephalic in the true Mongol {So to 85);
variable {sub-brachy and sub-dolicho) in most transitional groups
and even some Siberians {Ostyaks and Voguls yj). Jaws,
cheek-bones, nose, and eyes much the same as in South
CH. viii] The Northern Mongols 255
Mongols; but nose often large and straight, and eyes straight,
greyish, or even blue in Finns, Manchus, Koreans, and some
other MongolO'Caucasians.
Stature, usually short {below r68 m., ^ft. 6 in.), but many
Manchus and Koreans tall, 1 72S w. ^ 1 778 w. (5//. %or\o in).
Lips, arms, legs, and feet, usually the same as South
Mongols ; but Japanese legs disproportionately short.
Temperament, of all true Mongols and many Mongoloids,
dull, reserved, somewhat sullen and apathetic; but in some
groups {Finns, Japanese) active and energetic;
nearly all brave, warlike, even fierce, and capable characters
of great atrocities, though not normally cruel;
within the historic period the character has almost everywhere
undergone a marked change from, a rude and ferocious to a
milder and more humane disposition ; ethical tone higher than
South Mqfigol, with m,ore developed sense of right and wrong.
Speech, very uniform ; apparently only one stock language
(Finno-Tatar or Ural-Altaic Family), a highly typical
agglutinating form with no prefixes, but numerous postfixes
attached loosely to an unchangeable root, by which their vowels
are modified in accordance with subtle laws of vocalic harmony ;
the chief members of the family {Finnish, Magyar, Turkish,
Mongol, and especially Korean and Japanese) diverge greatly
.from the com-mon prototype.
Religion, originally spirit-zvorship through a mediator
(Shaman), perhaps everywhere, and still exclusively prevalent
amongst Siberian and all other uncivilised groups ; all Mongols
proper, Manchus, and Koreans nominal Buddhists ; all Turki
peoples Moslem; Japanese Buddhists and Shintoists; Finns,
Lapps, Bulgars, Magyars, and some Siberians real or nominal
Christians.
Culture, rude and barbaric rather than savage amongst
the Siberian aborigines, who are nearly all nomadic hunters
and fishers with half wild reindeer herds but scarcely any in-
dustries; the Mongols proper, Kirghiz, Uzbegs and Turkomans
semi-nomadic pastors ; the Anatolian and Balkan Turks, Man-
chus, and Koreans settled agriculturists, with scarcely any arts
or letters and no science; Japanese, Finns, Bulgars and Magyars
civilised up to, and in some respects beyond the European average
{Magyar and Finnish literature, Japanese: art).
Mongol Proper. Sharra {Eastern), Kal- _ . . '
mak ( Western), Buryat {Siberian) Mongol.
256 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Tungus. Tungus proper, Manchu, Gold, Oroch, Lamut.
Korean; Japanese ««flfLiu-Kiu.
Turki. Yakut; Kirghiz; Uzbeg; Tarancki; Kara-
Kalpak; Nogai; Turkoman; Anatolian; Osmanli.
Finno-Ugrian. Baltic Finn; Lapp; Samoyed; Chere-
miss; Votyak; Vogul; Ostyak; Bulgar; Magyar.
Bast Siberian. Yukaghir; Chukchi; Koryak; Kam-
chadale; Gilyak,
By " Northern Mongols " are here to be understood all
those branches of the Mongol Division of mankind which
are usually Comprised under the collective geographical ex-
pression Ural-Altaic, to which corresponds the ethnical
Domain of the designation Mongolo-Tatar, or more properly
Northern Mongolo- Turki^. Their domain is roughly sepa-
Mongois. r^jg^j fj.Qjj^ jhat of jhe Southern Mongols (Chap.
VI.) by the Great Wall and the Kuen-lun range, beyond which
it spreads out westwards over most of Western Asia, and a
considerable part of North Europe, with many scattered groups
in Central and South Russia, the Balkan Peninsula, and the
Middle Danube basin. In the extreme north their territory
stretches from the shores of the Pacific with Japan and
parts of Sakhalin continually westwards across Korea, Siberia,
Central and North Russia to Finland and Lapland. But its
southern limit* can be indicated only approximately by a line
drawn from the Kuen-lun range westwards along the northern
escarpments of the Iranian plateau, and round the southern
shores of the Caspian to the Mediterranean. This line, how-
ever, must be drawn in such a way as to include Afghan
Turkestan, much of the North Persian and Caucasian steppes,
and nearly the whole of Asia Minor, while excluding Armenia,
Kurdestan, and Syria.
Nor is it to be supposed that even within these limits the
North Mongol territory is everywhere continuous. In East
Early Contact Europe especially, where they are for the most
with Caucasic part comparatively recent intruders, the Mongols
Peoples. aj.g found only in isolated and vanishing groups
in the Lower and Middle Volga basin, the Crimea, and the
North Caucasian steppe, and in more compact bodies in
Rumelia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Throughout all these
districts, however, the process of absorption or assimilation to
' As fully explained in Eth. p. 303.
vni] The Northern Mongols . 257
the normal European physical type is so far completed that
many of the Nogai and other Russian " Tartars," as. they are
called, the Volga and Baltic Finns, the Magyars, and Osmanli
Turks, would scarcely be recognised as members of the North
Mongol family but for their common Finno-Turki speech,
and the historic evidence by which their original connection
with this division is established beyond all question.
In Central Asia also (North Irania, the Aralo-Caspian and
Tarim basins) the Mongols have been in close contact with
Caucasic peoples probably since the New Stone Age, and
here intermediate types have been developed, by which an
almost unbroken transition has been brought about between
the yellow and the white races.
During recent years much light has been shed on the
physiographical conditions of Central Asia in early times.
Stein's^ explorations in 1 900-1 and 1906-8 in primitive Man
Chinese Turkestan, the Pumpelly Expeditions* in in Siberia and
1903 and 1904 in Russian Turkestan, the travels Mongolia,
of Sven Hedin" in 1 899-1 902, and 1906-8, of Carruthers' in
N.W. Mongolia, and the researches of Ellsworth Huntington*
(a member of the first Pumpelly Expedition) in 1905-7 all
bear testimony to the variation in climate which the districts
of Central Asia have undergone since glacial times. There
has been a general trend towards arid conditions, alternating
with periods of greater humidity, when tracts, now deserted,
were capable of maintaining a dense population. Abundant
evidence of man's occupation has been fdund in delta oases
formed by snow-fed mountain streams, or on the banks of
vanished rivers, where now-a-days all is desolation, though,
as T. Peisker" points out, climate was not the sole or even the
main factor in many areas. In some places, as at Merv, the
earliest occupation was only a few centuries before the Christian
era, but at Anau near Askhabad some 300 miles east of the
Caspian, explored by the Pumpelly Expedition, the earliest
strata contained remains of S.tone Age culture. The North
^ Mark Aural Stein, Sand-buried Cities of Khotan, 1903, and Geog.Journ., July,
Sept. 1909.
2 ^.VarapAXf, Explorations in Turkestan,i^i,a.nA Explorations tn Turkestan;
Expedition of igo4, 1908.
3 Sven Hedin, Scientific Results ofafourney m Central Asia, i8gg-igo2, 1906,
and Geog.fourn., April, 1909.
* Douglas Carruthers, Unknown Mongolia, 1913 (with bibliography).
« Ellsworth Huntington, The Pulse of Asia, igio.
« "The Asiatic Background," Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. I. 191 1.
K. 17
258 , Man : ' Pa^t and Present [CH.
Kurgan or tumulus, rising some 40 or 50 feet above the plain,
showed a definite stratification of structures in sun-dried bricks,
raised by successive generations of occupants. H. Schmidt,
who was in charge of the excavations, was able to collect a
valuable series of potsherds, showing a gradual evolution in
form, technique and ornamentation, from the earliest to the
latest periods. One point of great significance for establishing
cultural if not physical relationships in this obscure region is
the resemblance between the geometrical designs on pots of
the early period and similar pottery found by MM. Gautier
and Lampre' at Mussian, and by M. J. de Morgan' at Susa,
while clay figurines from the South Kurgan (copper culture)
are clearly of Babylonian type, the influence of which is seen
much later in terra-cotta figurines discovered by Stein ^ at
Yotkan,
With the progress of archaeological research, it becomes
daily more evident that the whole of the North Mongol
domain, from Finland to Japan, has passed through the Stone
and Metal Ages, like most other habitable parts of the globe.
During his wanderings in Siberia and Mongolia in the early
nineties, Hans Leder'* came upon countless prehistoric stations,
kurgans (barrows), stone circles, and many megalithic monu-
ments of various types. In West Siberia the barrows, which
consist solely of earth without any stone-work, are by the
present inhabitants called Chudskiye Kurgani, " Chudish
Graves," and, as in North Russia, this term "Chude" is
ascribed to a now vanished unknown race which formerly
inhabited the land. To them, as to the "Toltecs" in Central
America, all ancient monuments are credited, and while some
regard them as prehistoric Finns, others identify them with the
historic Scythians, the Scythians of Herodotus.
There are reasons,- however, for thinking that the Chudes
may represent an earlier race, the men of the Stone Age, who,
migrating from north Europe eastwards, had reached the Tom
valley (which drains to the Obi) before the extinction of the
mammoth, and later spread over the whole of northern Asia,
leaving everywhere evidence of their presence in the megalithic
monuments now being daily brought to light in East Siberia,
^ Memoires de la Delegation en Perse; Recherches arcMologiques (from 1899).
^ Sand-but led Cities of Khotan, 1903.
^ " Ueber Alte Grabstatten in Sibirien und der Mongolei," in Mitt. d. Anthrop.
Ges., Vienna, 1895, xxv. 9.
viii] The Northern Mongols 259
Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. This view receives support from
the characters of two skulls found in 1895 by A. P., Mostitz in
one of the five prehistoric stations on the left bank of the Sava
affluent of the Selenga river, near Ust-Kiakta in Trans-
Baikalia. They differ markedly from the normal Buryat
(Siberian Mongol) type, recalling rather the long-shaped skulls
of the South Russian kurgans, with cephalic indices 73*2 and
73-5, as measured by M. J. D. Talko-Hryncewicz\ Thus, in
the very heart of the Mongol domain, the characteristically
round-headed race would appear to have been preceded, as in
Europe, by a long-headed type.
In East Siberia, and especially in the Lake Baikal region,
Leder found extensive tracts strewn with kurgans, many of
which have already been explored, and their contents deposited
in the Irkutsk museum. Amongst these are great numbers
of stone implements, and objects made of bone and mam-
moth tusks, besides carefully worked copper ware, betraying
technical skill and some artistic taste in the designs. In
Trans- Baikalia, still farther east, with the kurgans are asso-
ciated the so-called Kameni Babi, "Stone Women," monoliths
rough-hewn in the form of human figures. Many of these
monoliths bear inscriptions, which, however, appear to be of
recent date (mostly Buddhist prayers and formularies), and
are not to be confounded with the much older rock inscriptions
deciphered by W. Thomsen through the Turki language.
Continuing his investigations in Mongolia proper, Leder
here also discovered earthen kurgans, which, however,
differed from those of Siberia by being for the most part
surmounted either with circular or rectangular stone structures,
or else with monoliths. They are called KiirUktslir by the
present inhabitants, who hold them in great awe, and never
venture to touch them. Unfortunately strangers also are
unable to examine their contents, all disturbance of the ground
with spade or shovel being forbidden under pain of death by
the Chinese officials, for fear of awakening the evil spirits,
now slumbering peacefully below the surface. The Siberian
burial mounds have yielded no bronze, a fact which indicates
considerable antiquity, although no date can be set for its
introduction into these regions. Better evidence of antiquity
is found in the climatic changes resulting in recent desiccation,
1 Th. Volkov, in V Anthropologie, 1896, p. 82.
17 — 2
26o Man: Past and Present [ch.
which must have taken place here as dsewhere, for the burials
bear "witness to the existence of a denser population than could
be supported at the present time'.
Such an antiquity is indeed required to explain the spread
of neolithic remains -to the Pacific seaboard, and especially
Early Man in *^° Korea and Japian. In Korea W. Gowland
Korea and examined a dolmen 30 miles from Seul, which
Japan. \^^ describes and figures^, and which is remark-
able especially for the disproportionate size of the capstone,
a huge undressed megalith 14^ by over 13 feet. He refers to
four or five others, all in the northern, part of the peninsula,
and regards them as " intermediate in form between a cist and
a dolmen." But he thinks it probable that they were never
covered by mounds, but always stood as monuments above
ground, in this respect differing from the Japanese, the majority
of which are all lauried in tumuli. In some of their features
these present a curious resemblance to the Brittany structures,
but no stone implements appear to have been found in any
of the burial mounds, and the Japanese chambered tombs,
according to Hamada, Professor of Archaeology in Kyoto
University, are usually attributed to the Iron Age (fifth to
seventh centuries a.d.').
In many districts Japan contains memorials of a remote
past — shell mounds, cave-dwellings, and in Yezo certain pits,
which are not occupied by the present Ainu population, but
are by them attributed to the Koro-pok-guru, "People of the
Hollows," who occupied the land before their arrival, and
lived in huts built over these pits. Similar remains on an islet
near Nemuro on the north-east coast of Yezo are said by the
Japanese to have belonged to the Kobito, a dwarfish race ex-
terminated by the Ainu, hence apparently identical with the
Koro-pok-guru. They are associated by John Milne with
some primitive peoples of the Kurile Islands, Sakhalin, and
Kamchatka, -who, like the Eskimo of the American coast, had
extended formerly much farther south than at present.
^ Too much stress must not, however, be laid upon the theory of gradual
desiccation as a factor in depopulation. There are many causes such as earth-
quake, water-spouts, shifting of currents, neglect of irrigation and, above all, the
work of enemies to account for the sand-buried ruins of populous cities in Central
Asia. See T. Peisker, " The Asiatic Background," Cambridge Medieval History,
Vol. I. 191 1, p. 326.
2 Journ. Anthr. Inst. 1895, p. 318 sq.
2 Cf ArchcBologia Cambrensis, 6th Ser. XIV.' Part i, 1914, p. 131, and Zeitschr.
f. Ethnol. 1 910, p. 601.
viii] The Northern Mongols. 261
In a kitchen-midden, 330 by 200. feet, near Shiidizuka in
thfi province of Ibaraki, the Japanese antiquaries S. Yagi and
M. Shinomura' have found numerous objects belonging to the
Stone Age of Japan. Amongst them, were flint implements,
worked bones, ashes, pottery, and a whole series of clay figures
of human beings. The finders suggest that these remains may
have belonged to a homogenieous race of the Stone Period,
who, however, were not the ancestors of the Ainu— hitherto
generally regarded as the first inhabitants of Japan. In the
national records vague reference is made to other abprigines,
such as the " Long Legs," and the " Eight Wild Tribes,"
described as the enemies of the first Japanese settlers in Kiu-
shiu, and reduced by Jimmu Tenno, the semi-mythical founder
of the present dynasty ; the Ebisu, who are probably to be
identified with the Ainu ; and the Seki-Manzi, "Stone-Men,"
.also located in the southern island of Kiu-shiu. The last-
mentioned, of whom, however, litde further is known, seem to
have some claim to be associated with the above described
remains of early man in Japan ^
In the extreme west the present Mongol peoples, being
quite recent intruders, can in no way be connected with the
abundant prehistoric relics daily brought to light -^^^y Man in
in that region (South Russia, the Balkan Penin- Finland and
sula, Hungary). The same remark applies even ^^* Europe,
to Finland itself, which was at one time supposed to be the
cradle of the Finnish people, but is now shown to have been
first occupied by Germanic tribes. From an exhaustive study
of the bronze-yielding tumuli A. Hackman' concludes that the
population of the Bronze Period was Teutonic, and in this he
agrees both with Montelius and with W. Thomsen. The
latter holds on linguistic grounds that at the beginning of the
new era the Finns still dwelt east of the Gulf of Finland,
whence they moved west in later times.
It is unfortunate that, owing probably to the character of
the country, remains of the Stone Age in Babylonia are wanting
so that no comparison can yet be made with the neolithic
cultures of Egypt and the Aegean. The constant floods to
which Babylonia was ever subject swept away all traces of
early occupations until the advent of the Sumerians, who built
1 "Zur Prahistorik Japans," Globus, 1896, No. 10.
2 The best account of the archaeology of Japan will be found in Prehistoric
Japan, by N. G. Muaro, igia.
' Die Bronzezeit Finnlands, Helsimgfors, 1897.
262 Man : Past and Present [ch.
their cities on artificial mounds. The question of Akkado-
Sumerian' origins is by no means clear, for many important
cities are unexplored and even unidentified, but the general
trend of recent opinion may be noted. The
Bab^laniT"* linguistic problem is peculiarly complicated by-
the fact that almost all the Sumerian texts show
evidence of Semitic influence, and consist to a great extent of
religious hymns and incantations which often appear to be
merely translations of Semitic ideas turned by Semitic priests
into the, formal religious Sumerian language. J. Hal^vy,
indeed, followed by others, regarded Sqmerian as no true
language, but merely a priestly system of cryptography'', based
on Semitic. As regards linguistic affinities, K. A. Hermann'*
endeavoured to establish a connection between the early texts
and Ural-Altaic, more especially with Ugro-Finnish. A-more
recent suggestion that the language is of Indo-European origin
and structure rests on equally slight resemblances. The com-
parison with Chinese has already been noticed. J. D. Prince*
utters a word of caution against comparing ancient texts with
idioms of more recent peoples of Western Asia, in spite of
many tempting resemblances, and claims that until further
light has been shed on the problem Sumerian should be
regarded as standing quite alone, "a prehistoric philological
remnant."
E. Meyer° claims for the Sumerians not only linguistic
but also physical isolation. The Sumerian type as repre-
_, „ sented on the monuments shows a narrow pointed
The Sumerians. . , • 1 1 • 1 1 n -i
nose, with straight bridge and small nostrils,
cheeks and lips not fleshy, like the Semites, with prominent
cheek-bones, small mouth, narrow lips finely curved, the lower
jaw very short, with angular sharply projecting chin, oblique
Mongolian eyes, low forehead, usually sloping away directly
from the root of the nose. In fact the nose has almost the
appearance of a bird's beak, projecting far in advance of mouth
and chin, while the forehead almost disappears. The hair
1 "Akkadian," first applied by Rawlinson to the non-Semitic texts found at
Nineveh, is still often used by English writers in place of the more correct Sutnerian,
the Akkadians being now shown to be Semitic immigrants into Northern Babylonia
(p. 264).
^ Cf. L. W. King, History of Stimer and Akkad, 1910, pp. 5, 6.
5 Ueber die Summerische Sprache, Paper read at the Russian Archaeological
Congress, Riga, 1896.
* "Sumer and Sumerian," Ency. Brit. 191 1, with references.
' Geschichte des Altertums, l. 2, 2nd ed. 1909, p. 404.
viii] The Northern Mongols 2.62)
and beard are closely, shaven. • The Sumerians were un-
doubtedly a warlike people, fighting not like the Semites in
loosely extended battle array, but in close phalanx, their large
shields protecting their bodies from neck to feet, forming
a rampart beyond which projected the inclined spears of the
foremost rank. Battle axe and javelin were also used. Helmets
protected head and neck. Besides lance or spear the royal
leaders carried a curved throwing weapon, formed of three
strands bound together at intervals with thongs of leather or
bands of metal ; this seems to have developed later into a sign
of authority and hence into a sceptre. The bow, the typical
weapon of the Semites and the mountainous people to the east,
was unrepresented. The gods carried clubs with stone heads.
It is important to notice that, in direct contrast to the
Sumerians themselves, their gods had abundant hair on their
heads, carefully curled and dressed, and a long curly beard on
the chin, though cheeks and lips were closely shaven ; these
fashions recall those of the Semites. Thus, althoqgh the
general view is to regard the Sumerians as the autochthones
and the Semites as the later intruders in Babylonia, the
Semitic character of the Sumerian gods points to an opposite
conclusion. But the time has not yet come for any definite
conclusion to be reached. All that can be said is that according
to our present knowledge the assumption that the earliest
population was Sumerian and that the Semites were the
conquering intruders is only slightly more probable than the
reversed
Recent archaeological discoveries make Sumerian origins
a little clearer. Explorations in Central Asia (as mentioned
above p. 257) show that districts once well watered, and
capable of supporting a large population, have been subject to
periods of excessive drought, and this no doubt is the prime
cause of the racial unrest which has ever been characteristic
of the dwellers in these regions. A cycle of drought may well
have prompted the Sumerian migration of the fourth millen-
nium B.C., as it is shown to have prompted the later invasions
of the last two thousand years'. Although there is no evidence
to connect the original home of the Sumerians with any of the
» E. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, I. 2, 2nd ed. 1909, p. 406. L. W. King
{History of Sumer and Akkad, 1910) discusses Meyer's arguments and points out
that the earliest Sumerian gods appear to be free from Semitic influence (p. 51).
He is inclined, however, to regard the Sumerians as displacing an earlier Semitic
people (Hutchinson's History of the Nations, 1914, pp. 221 and 229).
2 Ellsworth Huntington, The Pulse of Asia, 1910, p. 382.
264 Man: Past and Present [ch.
oases yet excavated in Central Asia, yet signs of cultiirali
contact are not wanting, and it may safely be inferred tbat
their civilisation was evolved in some region to the east of
the Euphrates valley before their entrance into Babylonia'.
Since Semitic influemce was first felt in the north of
Babylonia, at Akkad, it is assumed that the immigration was
from the north-west from Arabia by way of the
lans. gypj^jj Goastlands, amd in this case also the
impulse may have been the occurrence of an arid period in the
centre of the Arabian continent. The Semites are found not
as barbarian invaders, but as a highly cultivated people. They
absorbed several cultural elements of the Sumerians, notably
their script, and were profoundly influenced by Sumerian
religion. The Akkadians^ are represented with elaborately
curled hair and beard, and hence, in contradistinction to the
shaven Sumerians, are referred to as "the black-headed ones."
Their chief weapon was the bow, but they had also lances and
battle axes. As among the Sumerians the sign of kingship
was a boomerang-like sceptre °. Except for Babylon and
Sippar, which throw little light on the early periods, no system-
atic excavation has been undertaken in northern Babylonia,
and the site of Akkad is still untidentified.
The chronology of this early age of Babylonia is much
disputed. The very high dates of 5000 or 6000 B.C. formerly
assigned by many writers to the earliest remains
Chrono"oCT °^ ^ Sumerians and the Babylonian Semites,
depended to a great extent on the statement of
Nabonidus (556 B.C.) that 3200' years separated his own age
rom that of Naram-Sin, the son of Sargon of Agade ; for to
Sargon, on this statement alone, a date of 3800 has usually
been assigned'. This date presents many difficulties, leaving
many centuries unrepresented by any royal names or records.
Even the suggested emendation of the text reducing the esti-
mate by a thousand years is not generally acceptable. Most
authorities hesitate to date any Babylonian records before
3000 B.C* and agree that the time has not arrived for fixing
any definite dates for the early period.
' L. W. King, History of Sumer and Akkad, rgio, p. 357.
^ E. Meyer, Gesehtchte des Altertums, I. 2, 2nd ed. 1909, p. 463.
' L. W. King, History of Sumer and Akkad, 1910, p, 61, and the article,
"Chronology. Babylonia and Assyria," Eney. Brit. 191 1. Cf. also E. Meyer,
Geschichte des Altertums, I. 2, 2nd ed. 1909, §f 329 and 38 3.
* The cylinder-seails and tablets of Faara, excajvated by KoIde'VKey, Andtae and
Noeldeke in 1902-3 may go back to 3400 B.c. Cf. L. W. King, loc. cit. p. 65.
vm] The Novtkem Mongols 265
Despite thse li^endary matter associated with, his memocy,
Shar-Gani-sharri, commonly called Sargon of AJcfeadi, about
2500 B.C. (Meyer), 2650 b.c. (Ki'ng')^ was beyond question a
historical person though it seems that there has been some
confusion with Sharru-gi, or Sharrukin,, also called Sargon,
easrliest king of Kish'. Tradition records how his mother,
a royal princess, concealed his birth by placing him in a rush
basket closed with bitumen and sending him adrift on the
stream, from which he was rescued by Akki the water-carrier,
who brought him up as his own child. The incidemt, about
which there is nothing miraculous, presents a curious parallel to>
if it be not the source of, similar tales related of Moses, Cyrus,
and other ancient leaders of men. Sargon also tells us that he
ruled from his capital, Agade, for 45 years over Upper and
Lower Mesopotamia, governed the black-headed ones, as the
Akkads are constantly called, rode in bronze chariots over
rugged lands, and made expeditions thrice to the sea-coast.
The expeditions are confirmed by inscriptions from Syria,
though the cylinder of his son, Naram-Sin, found by Cesnola
in Cyprus, is now regarded as of later date^ As they also
penetrated to Sinai their influence appears to have extended
over the whole of Syria and North Arabia. They erected
great structures at Nippur, which was at that time so ancient
that Naram-Sin's huge brick platform stood on a mass 30 feet
thick of the accumulated debris of earlier buildings. Among
the most interesting of recent discoveries at Nippur are pre-
Semitic tablets containing accounts similar to those recorded
in the book of Genesis, from which in some cases the latter have
clearly been derived. The " Deluge Fragment " published in
1 910 relates the warning given by the god Ea to Utnapishtim,
the Babylonian Noah, and the directions for building a ship
by means of which he and his family may escape, together
with the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven*. A still
later discovery agrees more closely with the Bible version,
giving the name of the one pious man as Tagtog, Semitic
Nuhu, and assigning nine months as the period of the duration
of the flood. The same tablet also contains an account of the
- 1 C. H. W. Johns, Ancient Babyloma, 1913, regards Sharrukin as- "-Sargon of
Akkad," p. 39.
2 L. W. King, History of Sumer attd Akkad^ 1910, pp. 234, 343,. where the seal
is referred to a period not much earlier than the First Dynasty of Babylom
3 H. V. Hilprecht, The Babylotdan Expedition of the UmversityofPennsyl'BcatioL,
Series D, Vol. v. i. 1910.
266 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Fall of Man; but it is Noah, not Adam, who is tempted and
falls, and the forbidden fruit is cassia\
Sennacherib's grandson, Ashurbanipal, who belongs to the
late Assyrian empire when the centre of power had been
shifted from Babylonia to Nineveh, has left re-
OriSns corded on his brick tablets how he overran Elam
and destroyed its capital, Susa (645 B.C.). He
states that from this place he brought back the effigy of the
goddess Nana, which had been carried away from her temple
at Erech by an Elamite king by whom Akkad had been con-
quered 1635 years before, i.e. 2280 B.C. Over Akkad Elam
ruled 300 years, and it was a king of this dynasty, Khudur-
Lagamar, who has been identified by T. G. Pinches with the
" Chedorlaomer, king of Elam " routed by Abraham (Gen.
xiv. I4-I7)^ Thus is explained the presence of Elamites at
this time so far west as Syria, their own seat being amid the
Kurdish mountains in the Upper Tigris basin.
The Elamites do not appear to have been of the same
stock as the Sumerians. They are described as peaceful, in-
dustrious, and skilful husbandmen, with a surprising knowledge
of irrigating processes. The non-Semitic language shows
possible connections with Mitanni". Yet the type would
appear to be on the whole rather Semitic, judging at least
from the large arched nose and thick beard of the
Records^ Susian god, Ramman, brought by Ashurbanipal
out of Elam, and figured in Layard's Monuments
of Nineveh, ist Series, Plate 65. This, however, may.be ex-
plained by the fact that the Elamites were subdued at an early
date by intruding Semites, although they afterwards shook off
the yoke and became strong enough to conquer Mesopo-
tamia and extend their expeditions to Syria and the Jordan.
The capital of Elam was the renowned city of Susa
(Shushan, whence Susiana, the modern Khuzistan). Recent
' See The Times, June 24, 1914.
^ "Babylonia and Elam Four Thousand Years Ago," in Knowledge, May i, 1896,
p. ii6sq. and elsewhere.
' The term " Elam " is said to have the same meaning as " Akkad " {i.e. High-
land) in contradistinction to " Sumer" (Lowland). It should be noted that neither
Akkad nor Sumer occurs in the oldest texts, where Akkad is called Kish from the
name of its capital, and Sumer Kiengi (JCengi), probably a general name meaning
" the land." Kish has been identified with the Kush of Gen. x., one of the best
abused words in Palethnology. For this identificationj however, there is. some
ground, seeing that Kush is mentioned in the closest connection. with "Babel, and
Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar" (Mesopotamia) v. 10.
viii] The Northern Mongols 267
excavations show that the settlement dates from neolithic
times \
Even after the capture of Susa by Ashurbanipal, Elam
again rose to great power under Cyrus the Great, who, hg^w-
ever, was no Persian adventurer, as stated by Herodotus, but
the legitimate Elamite ruler, as inscribed on his cylinder and
tablet now in the British Museum : — "Cyrus, the great king,
the king of Babylon, the king of Sumir and Akkad, the king
of the four zones, the son of Kambyses, the great king, the
king of Elam, the grandson of Cyrus the great king," who by
the favour of Merodach has overcome the black-headed people
{i.e. the Akkads) and at last entered Babylon in peace. On
an earlier cylinder Nabonidus, last king of Babylon, tells us
how this same Cyrus subdued the Medes — here called Mandas,
" Barbarians " — and captured their king Astyages and his
capital Ekbatana. But although Cyrus, hitherto supposed to
be a Persian and a Zoroastrian monotheist, here appears as an
Elamite and a polytheist, "it is pretty certain that although
descended from Elamite kings, these were [at that time]
kings of Persian race, who, after the destruction of the old
[Elamite] monarchy by Ashurbanipal, had established a new
dynasty at the city of Susa. Cyrus always traces his descent
from Achaemenes, the chief of the leading Persian clan of Pasar-
gadsel" Hence although wrong in speaking of Cyrus as an
adventurer, Herodotus rightly calls him a Persian, and at this
late date Elam itself may well have been already Aryanised in
speech', while still retaining its old Sumerian religion. The
> J. de Morgan, Memoires de la DdUgaiion en Perse, 1899-1906.
2 S. Laing, Human Origins, p. 74.
^ And it has remained so ever since, the present Lur and Bakhtiari inhabitants
of Susiana speaking, not the standard Neo-Persian, but dialects of the ruder
Kurdish branch of the Iranian family, as if they had been Aryanised from Media,
the capital of which was Ekbatana. We have here, perhaps, a clue to the origin
of the Medes themselves, who were certainly the above-mentioned Mandas of
Nabonidus, their capital being also the same Ekbatana. Now Sayce {Academy,
Sept. 7, 1895, p. 189) identified the Kimmerians with these Manda nomads, whose
king Tukdamme (Tug^dammd) was the Lygdanis of Strabo (l. 3, 16), who led a
horde of Kimmerians into Lydia and captured Sardis. We know from Esar-
haddon's inscriptions that by the Assyrians these Kimmerians were called Manda,
their prince Teupsa (Teispe) being described as " of the people of the Manda."
An oracle given to Esar-haddon begins : " The Kimmerian in the mountains has
set fire in the land of EUip," i.e. the land where Ekbatana was afterwards founded,
which is now shown to have already been occupied by the Kimmerian or Manda
hordes. It follows that Kimmerians, Mandas, Medes with their modern Kurd and
Bakhtiari representatives, were all one people, who were almost certainly of Aryan
speech, if not actually of proto-Aryan stock. " The Kurds are the descendants of
Aryan invaders and have maintained their type and their language for more than
268 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Babylonian pantheon survived, in fact, till the time of Daxius,
Hystaspes, who introduced Zoroastrianism with its supremJie
gods, Ahura-Mazda, creator of all good, and Ahriman, author
of all evil.
It is now possible to gain some idea of the gradual growth
of the city states of Babylonia. Beginning with a mere collec-
tion of rude reed huts, these were succeeded; by
rSkIo^" structures of sun-dried bricks, built in a group for
mutual protection, probably around a centre of a
local god, and surrounded by a wall. The land around the
settlement was irrigated by canals, and here the corn and
vegetables were grown and the flocks and herds were tended
for the maintenance of the population. The central figure was
always the god, who occasionally gave his name to the site,
and who was the owner of all the land, the inhabitants being
merely his tenants who owed him rent for their estates. It
was the god who waged wars with the neighbours, and with
whom treaties were made. The treaty between Lagash and
Umma fixing the limitations of their boundaries, a constant
matter of dispute, was made by Ningirsu, god of Lagash, and
the city god of Umma, under the arbitration of Enlil, the chief
of the gods, whose central shrine was at Nippur.
With the growth of the cities disputes of territory were
sure to arise, and either by conquest or amalgamation, cities
became absorbed into states. The problem then was the
adjustment of the various city gods, each reigning supreme
in his own city, but taking a higher or lower place in the
Babylonian pantheon. When one city gained a supremacy
over all its neighbours, its governor might assume the title of
king. But the king was merely the patesi, the steward of the
city god. Even when the supremacy was sufficiently per-
manent for the establishment of a dynasty, this was a dynasty
of the city rather than of a family, for the successive kings
were not necessarily of the same family \
Among the city gods who developed into powerful deities
were Anu of Uruk (Erech), Enlil of Nippur and Ea of Eridu
(originally a sea-port). These became the supreme triad, Anu
ruling over the heavens, enthroned on the northern pole, as
3300 years," F. v. Luschan, "The Early Inhabitants of Westera Pisia." Jeurn. Roy.
Anthr. Inst. XLi. 191 1, p. 23P. For a classification of Kurds see Mark Sykes, "The
Kurdish Tribes of the Ottoman Empire," /(?«;f«. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvm. igoS,
p. 451. Cf. also D. G. Hogarth, The Nearer East, igo3.
^ C. H. W. Johns, Ancient Babylonia, 1913, p. 27.
viii] The Northern Mongols 269
king and father of the gods ; Enlil, the Semitic Bel, god o:f
earth, lord of the lands, formerly chief of all the gods ; and
Ea, god of the water-depths, "whose son was ultimately to
eclipse his father as Marduk of Babylon. A second triad is
composed of the local deities who developed into Sin, the
moon-god of Ur, Shamash the sun-god of Larsa, and the
famous Ishtar, the great mother, goddess of love and queen of
heaven. The realm of the dead was a dark place under the
earth, where the dead lived as shadows, eating the dust of
the earth. Their lot depended partly on their earlier lives,
and partly on the devotion of their surviving relatives. Al-
though their dead kings were deified there seems to be no
evidence for a belief in a general resurrection or in the trans-
migration of souls. The hymns and prayers -to the gods
however show a very high religious level in spite of the
important part played by soothsaying and exorcism, relics
of earlier culture. The permanence of these may be partly
ascribed to the essentially theocratic character of Babylonian
government. The king, was merely the agent of the god,
whose desires were interpreted by the priestly soothsayers and
exorcists, and no action could be underj;aken in worldly or in
religious concerns without their superintendence. The kings
occasionally attempted to free themselves from the power of
the priests, but the attempt was always vain. The power of
the priests had often a sound economic basis, for the temples
of the great cities were centres of vast wealth and of far-
reaching trade, as is proved by the discovery of the commercial
contracts stored in the temple archives'.
How the family expands through the clan and tribe into
the nation, is clearly seen in the Babylonian social system,
in which the inhabitants. of each city were still « ■ .g .
" divided into clans, all of whose members claimed
to be descended from a common ancestor who had flourished
at a more or less remote period. The members of each clan
were by no means all in the same social position, some having
gone down in the world, others having raised themselves ; and
amongst them we find many different callings — from agricultural
labourers to scribes, and from merchants to artisans. No
natural tie existed among the majority of these members ex-
cept the remembrance of their common origin, perhaps also
1 Cf. y. Zimmern, article " Babyloniams and Assyrians," Ency. Religion and
Ethics, 1909.
270 Man : Past and Present [ch.
a common religion, and eventual rights of succession or claims
upon what belonged to each one individually \" The god or
goddess, it is suggested, who watched over each man, and of
whom each was the son, was originally the god or goddess of
the clan (its totem). So also in Egypt, the members of the
community were all supposed to come of the same stock {pdit),
and to belong to the same family {pditu), whose chiefs (ropditu)
were the guardians of the family, several groups of such
families being under a ropdiM-hd, or head chief ^
Amongst the local institutions, it is startling to find a fully
developed ground-landlord system, though not quite so bad
as that still patiently endured in Engljind, already flourishing
ages ago in Babylonia. " The cost of repairs fell usually on
the lessee, who was also allowed to build on the land he had
leased, in which case it was declared free of all charges for
a period of about ten years ; but the house and, as a rule, all
he had built, then reverted to the landlord ^"
In many other respects great progress had been made, and
it is the belief of von Ihring^ HommeP and others that from
Babylonia was first diffused a knowledge of
General Culture. , , ■^ ^ . . • i- u-
letters, astronomy, agriculture, navigation, archi-
tecture, and other arts, to the Nile valley, and mainly through
Egypt to the Western World, and through Irania to China
and India. In this generalisation there is probably a large
measure of truth, although it will be seen farther on that the
Asiatic origin of Egyptian culture is still far from being proved".
One element the two peoples certainly had in common —
a highly developed agricultural system, which formed the
foundation of their greatness, and was maintained in a rainless
climate by a stupendous system of irrigation works. Such
works were carried out on a prodigious scale by the ancient
Babylonians six or eight thousand years ago. The plains of
the Lower Euphrates and Tigris, since rendered desolate
under Turkish misrule, are intersected by the remains of an
intricate network of canalisation covering all the space between
the two rivers, and are strewn with the ruins of many great
cities, whose inhabitants, numbering scores of thousands, were
' G. Maspero, Dawn of Civilization, p. 733.
^ Ibid. p. 71.
2 Ibid. p. 752.
* Vorgeschichte, etc., Book II. passim.
* Geschichte Babylonians u. Assytiens.
* G. Maspero, The Struggle of the Nations, Egypt, Syria and Assyria, J910.
viii] The Northern Mongols 271
supported by the produce of a highly cultivated region, which
is now an arid waste varied only by crumbling mounds, stag-
nant waters, and the camping-grounds, of a few Arab tent-
dwellers.
Those who attach weight to distinctive racial qualities
have always found a difficulty in attributing this wonderful
civilisation to the same Mongolic people, who in
their own homes have scarcely anywhere ad- p"oper
vanced beyond the hunting, fishing, or pastoral
states. But it has always to be remembered that man, like all
other zoological forms, necessarily reflects the character of his
environment. The Mongols might in- time become agricul-
turalists in the alluvial Mesopotamian lands, though the kindred
people who give their name to the whole ethnical division and
present its physical characters in an exaggerated form, ever
remain tented nomads on the dry Central Asiatic steppe, which
yields little but herbage, and is suitable for tillage only in a few
more favoured districts. Here the typical Mongols, cut off
from the arable lands of South Siberia by the Tian-shan and
Altai ranges, and to some extent denied access to the rich
fluvial valleys of the Middle Kingdom by the barrier of the
Great Wall, have for ages led a pastoral life in the inhabitable
tracts and oases of the Gobi wilderness and the Ordos region
within the great bend of the Hoang-ho. During the historic
period these natural and artificial ramparts have been several
times slirmounted by fierce Mongol hordes, pouring like irre-
sistible flood-waters over the whole of China and many parts
of Siberia, and extending their predatory or conquering ex-
peditions across the more open northern plains westwards
nearly to the shores of the Atlantic. But such devastating,
torrents, which at intervals convulsed and caused dislocations
amongst half the settled populations of the globe, had little
effect on the tribal groups that remained behind. These con-
tinued and continue to occupy the original camping-grounds,
as changeless and uniform in their physical appearance, mental
characters, and social usages as the Arab bedouins and all
other inhabitants of monotonous undiversified steppe lands.
De Ujfalvy's suggestion that the typical Mongols of the
plains, with whom we are now dealing, were originally a long-
headed race, can scarcely be taken seriously. At p. j^.^, _
present and, in fact, throughout historic times, all
272 M-an : Past und Present [ch.
true Mongol peoples are and have been distinguished by a
high degree of brachycephaly, with cephalic index generally
from 87 upwards, and it may be remembered that the highest
known index of any undeformed skull was that of Huxley's
Mongol (98" 21). But, as already noticed, those recovered
from prehistoric, or neolilihic kurgans, are found to be doUcho-
■cephalous like those of palaeolithic and early neolithic man in
Europe.
Taken in connection with the numerous prehistoric remains
above recorded from all parts of Central Asia and Siberia,
this fact may perhaps help to bring de Ujfelvy's view into
harmony with the actual conditions. Everything will be ex-
plained by assuming that the proto-Mongolic tribes, spreading
from the Tibetan plateau over the plains now bearing their
name, found that region already occupied by the long-headed
Caucasic peoples of the Stone Ages, whom they either exter-
minated or drove north to the Altai uplands, and east to
Manchuria and 'Korea, where a strong Caucasic strain still
persists. De Ujfalvy's long-Jieads would thus be, not the
proto-Mongols who were always round-headed, but the long-
headed neolithic pre- Mongol race expelled by them from
Mongolia who may provisionally be termed proto-Nordics.
That this region has been their true home since the first
migrations from the south there can be no doubt. Here land
Ethnical and ^^*^ people Stand in the closest relation one to
Administrative the Other ; here every conspicuous physical
Dmsions. feature recalls some popular memory ; every
rugged crest is associated with the name of some national
hero, every lake or stream is still worshipped or held in awe
as a local deity, or else the abode of the ancestral shades.
Here also the Mongols proper form two main divisions, S/iarra
in the east and Kalmiik in the west, while a third group,
the somewhat mhLe.d' £uryats, have long been settled in the
Siberian provinces of Irkutsk and Trans- Baikalia. Under the
Chinese semi-military administration all except the Buryats,
who are Russian subjects, are constituted since the seventeenth
century in 41 Aimaks (large tribal groups or iprincipalities
with ihereditary khans) and 226 Koshungs, " Banners," that is,
smaller groups whose chiefs are dependent on the khans of
their respective Aimaks, who are themselves directly re-
sponsible to the imperial government. Subjoined is a table
of "these administrative .divisions, which present a curious
viii] The Northern Mongols 273
but efifective combination of the tribal and political systems,
analogous to the arrangement in Pondoland and some other
districts in Cape Colony, where the hereditary tribal chief
assumes the functions of a responsible British magistrate.
Tribal or Territorial
Divisions
(P.
Aimaks
rincipalities)
Koshungs
(Banners)
Khalkas
4
86
Inner Mongolia with Ordos
Chakars
25
1
51
8
Ala-Shan
I
3
Koko-nor and Tsaidam
5
29
Sungaria
Uriankhai
4
I
32
17
41 226
Since their organisation in Aimaks and Koshungs, the
Mongols have ceased to be a terror to the surrounding peoples.
The incessant struggles between these tented warriors and the
peaceful Chinese populations, which began long before the
dawn of history, were brought to a close with the overthrow of
the Sungarian power in the eighteenth century, when their
political cohesion was broken, and the whole nation reduced
to a state of abject helplessness, from which they cannot now
hope to recover. The arm of Chinese rule could be replaced
only by the firmer grip of the northern autocrat, whose shadow
already lies athwart the Gobi wilderness.
Thus the only escape from the crushing monotony of a
purely pastoral life, no longer relieved by intervals of warlike
or predatory expeditions, lies in a survival of the old Shamanist
superstitions, or a further development of the degrading Tibetan
lamaism represented at Urga by the Kutukhtu,
an incarnation of the Buddha only less revered " ^'
than the Dalai Lama himself. Besides this High Priest at
Urga, there are over a hundred smaller incarnations — Gigens,
as they are called — and these saintly beings possess unlimited
means of plundering their votaries. The smallest favour, the
touch of their garments, a pious ejaculation or blessing, is
1 It is noteworthy that Dalai, " Ocean," is itself a Mongol word, though Lama,
" Priest," is Tibetan. The explanation is that in the thirteenth century a local incar-
nation of Buddha was raised by the then dominant Mongols to the first rank, and
this title of Dalai Lama, the " Ocean Priest," i.e. the Priest of fathomless wisdom,
was bestowed on one of his successors in the sixteenth century, and still retained
by the High Pontiff at Lhasa.
274 Man : Past and Present [ch.
regarded as a priceless spiritual gift, and must be paid for with
costly offerings. Even the dead do not escape these exactions.
However disposed of, whether buried or cremated, like the
khans and lamas, or exposed to beasts and birds of prey, as is
the fate of the common folk, " masses," which also command
a high price, have to be said for forty days to relieve their
souls from the torments of the Buddhist purgatory.
It is a singular fact, which, however, may perhaps admit
of explanation, that nearly all the true Mongol peoples have
been Buddhists since the spread of Sakya-Muni's teachings
throughout Central Asia, while their Turki kinsmen are zealous
followers of the Prophet. Thus is seen, for instance, the strange
spectacle of two Mongolic groups, the Kirghiz of the Turki
branch and the. Kalmuks of the West Mongol branch, en-
camped side byside on the Lower Volga plains, the former
all under the banner of the Crescent, the latter devout wor-
shippers of all the incarnations of Buddha. But analogous
phenomena occur amongst the European peoples, the Teutons
being mainly Protestants, those of neo- Latin speech mainly
Roman Catholics, and the Easterns Orthodox. From all this,
however, nothing more can be inferred than that the religions
are partly a question of geography, partly determined by racial
temperament and political conditions ; while the religious
sentiment, being universal, is above all local or ethnical con-
siderations.
Under the- first term of the expression Mongolo-Turki
(p. 256) are comprised, besides the Mongols proper, nearly all
those branches of the division which lie to the east and north-
east of Mongolia, and are in most respects more closely allied
with the Mongol than with the Turki section. Such are the
Tunguses, with the kindred Manckus, Golds, Orochons, Lamuts,
and others of the Amur basin, the Upper Lena head-streams,
the eastern affluents of the Yenisei, and the shores of the Sea
of Okhotsk ; the Gilyaks about the Amur estuary and in the
northern parts of Sakhalin ; the Kamchadales in South Kam-
chatka ; in the extreme north-east the Koryaks, Chukchis, and
Yukaghirs ; lastly the Koreans, Japanese, and Liu-Kiu [Lu-
Chu) Islanders. To the Mongol section thus belong nearly
all the peoples lying between the Yenisei and the Pacific
(including most of the adjacent archipelagos), and between
the Great Wall and the Arctic Ocean. The only two ex-
ceptions are the Yakuts of the middle and Lower Lena and
viii] The Northern Mongols 275
neighbouring Arctic rivers, who are of Turki stock ; and the
Ainus of Yezo, South Sakhalin, and some of the Kurile
Islands, who belong to the Caucasic division.
M. A. Czaplicka proposes a useful classification of the
various peoples of Siberia, usually grouped on account of
linguistic affinities as Ural-Altaians, and as "no other part of
the world presents a racial problem of such complexity and in
regard to no other part of the world's inhabitants have ethno-
logists of the last hundred years put forward such widely
differing hypotheses of their origin \" her tabulation may serve
to clear the way. She divides the whole area" into Palaeo-
Siberians, representing the most ancient stock of dwellers in
Siberia, and Neo-Siberians, comprising the various tribes of
Central Asiatic origin who are sufficiently differentiated from
the kindred peoples of their earlier homes as to deserve a
generic name of their own. The Palaeo-Siberians thus include
the Chukchi, Koryak, Kamchadale, Ainu, Gilyak, Eskimo,
Aleut, Yukaghir, Chuvanzy and Ostyak of Yenisei. The
Neo-Siberians include the Finnic Tribes (Ugrian Ostyak, and
Vogul\ Samoyedic Tribes, Turkic Tribes ( Yakut and Turko-
Tatars of Tobolsk and Tomsk Governments), Mongolic Tribes
(Western Mongols or Kalmuk, Eastern Mongols, and Buryat),
and Tungusic Tribes {Tungus, Chapogir, Gold, Lamut, Man-
chti, Manyarg, Oroch, Orochon ("Reindeer Tungus"), Oroke).
A striking illustration of the general statement that the
various cultural states are a question not of race, but of en-
vironment, is afforded by the varying social con-
ditions of the widespread Tungus family, who
are fishers on the Arctic coast, hunters in the East Siberian
woodlands, and for the most part sedentary tillers of the soil
and townspeople in the rich alluvial valleys of the Amur and
its southern affluents. The Russians, from whom we get the
term Tungus^ recognise these various pursuits, and speak of
1 Aboriginal Siberia, 1914, p. 13. ^ Loc. cit. pp. 18-21.
^ Either from the Chinese Tunghu, " Eastern Barbarians," or from the Turki
Tinghiz, as in Isaac Massa: per interfiretes se Tingoesi vocari dixerwit {Descriptio,
etc., Amsterdam, 1612). But there is no collective national name, and at present
they call themselves Don-ki, Boia, Boie, etc., terms all meaning " Men," " People."
In the Chinese records they are referred to under the name of I-lu so early as
263 A.D., when they dwelt in the forest region between the Upper Tenien and Yalu
rivers on the one hand and the Pacific Ocean on the other, and paid tribute in
kind — sable furs, bows, and stone arrow-heads. Arrows and stone arrow-heads
were also the tribute paid to the emperors of the Shang dynasty (1766-1154 B.C.)
by the Su-shen, who dwelt north of the Liao-tung peninsula, so that we have here
official proof of a Stone Age of long duration in iManchuria. Later, the Chinese
18 — 2
276 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Horse, Cattle, Reindeer, Dog, Steppe, and Forest Tunguses,
besides the settled farmers and stock-breeders of the Amur.
Their original home appears to have been the
?pt'*^"'^ Shan-alin uplands, where they dwelt with the
kindred Niu-chi (Manchus) till the thirteenth
century, when the disturbances brought about by the wars and
conquests of Jenghiz-Khan drove them to their present seat in
East Siberia. The type, although essentially Morigolic in the
somewhat flat features, very prominent cheek-bones, slant eyes,
long lank hair, yellowish brown colour and low stature, seems
to show admixture with a higher race in the shapely frame,
the nimble, active figure, and quick, intelligent expression,
and especially in the variable skull. While generally round
(indices 80° to 84°), the head is sometimes flat on the top, like
that of the true Mongol, sometimes high and short, which, as
Hamy tells us, is specially characteristic of the Turki race\
All observers speak in enthusiastic language of the tem-
perament and moral qualities of the Tunguses, and particularly
of those groups that roam the forests about the
Characters Tunguska tributaries of the Yenisei, which take
their name from these daring hunters and trappers.
" Full of animation and natural impulse, always cheerful even
in the deepest misery, holding themselves and others in like
respect, of gentle manners and poetic speech, obliging without
servility, unaffectedly proud, scorning falsehood, and indifferent
to suffering and death, the Tunguses are unquestionably an
heroic peopled"
A few have been brought within the pale of the Orthodox
Church, and in the extreme south some are classed as Buddhists.
But the great bulk of the Tunsfus nation are still
Shamanism. 01 . •" t j j ^u j 07
bhamanists. Indeed the very word Shaman is
of Tungus origin, though current also amongst the Buryats
and- Yakuts. It is often taken to be the equivalent of priest ;
but in point of fact it represents a stage in the development of
natural religion which has scarcely yet reached the sacerdotal
chronicles mention the U-ki or Mo-ho, a warlike people of the Suhgari valley and ~
surrounding uplands, who, in the 7th century founded the kingdom of Pu-hai,
overthrown in 925 by the Khitans of the Lower Sungari below its Noni confluence,
who were themselves Tunguses and according to some Chinese authorities the
direct ancestors of the Manchus.
1 " C'est la tendance de la tSte k se d^velopper en hauteur, juste en sens inverse
de I'aplatissement vertical du Mongol. La tSte du Turc est done Jl la fois plus
haute et plus courte " {L' Anthropologic, vi. 3, p. 8).
2 Reclus, VI. ; Eng. ed. p. 360.
viii] The Northern Mongols 277
state. " Although in many cases the shamans act as priests,
and take part in popular and family festivals, prayers, and
sacrifices, their chief importance is based on the performance
of duties which distinguish them sharply from ordinary priests'."
Their functions are threefold, those of the medicine-man (the
leech, or healer by supernatural means) ; of the soothsayer
(the prophet through communion with the invisible world) ;
and of the priest, especially in his capacity as exorcist, and in
his general power to influence, control, or even coerce the
good and evil spirits on behalf of their votaries. But as all
spirits are, or were originally, identified with the souls of the
departed, it follows that in its ultimate analysis Shamanism
resolves itself into a form of ancestry-worship.
The system, of which there are many phases reflecting the
different cultural states of its adherents, still prevails amongst
all the Siberian aborigines', and generally amongst all the un-
civilised Ural-Altaic populations, so that here again the religions
strictly reflect the social condition of the peoples. Thus the
somewhat cultured Finns, Turks, Mongols, and Manchus are
all either Christians, Muhammadans, or Buddhists ; while the
uncultured but closely related Samoyeds, Ostyaks, Orochons,
Tunguses, Golds, Gilyaks, Koryaks, and Chukchi, are almost
without exception Shamanists.
The shamans do not appear to constitute a special caste or
sacerdotal order, like the hierarchies of the Christian Churches.
Some are hereditary, some elected by popular vote, so to say.
They may be either men, or women \shamankd), married or
single ; and if " rank " is spoken of, it simply means greater or
less proficiency in the performance of the duties imposed on
them. Everything thus depends on their personal merits,
which naturally gives rise to much jealousy between the
members of the craft. Thus amongst the " whites " and the
" blacks," that is, those whose dealings are with the good and
the bad spirits respectively, there is in some districts a standing
feud, often resulting in fierce encounters and bloodshed. The
Buryats tell how the two factions throw axes at each other at
great distances, the struggle usually ending in the death of one
of the combatants. The blacks, who serve the evil spirits,
1 V. M. Mikhailovskii, Shamanistn in Siberia and European Russia, translated
by Oliver Wardrop, yi?«r«. Anthr. Inst. 1895, p. 91.
2 M. A. Czaplicka, Aboriginal Siberia, 1914. Part ill. discusses Shamanism,
pp. 166-255.
278 Man: Past and Present [ch.
bringing only disease, death, or ill-luck, and even killing'
people by eating up their souls, are of course the least popular,
but also the most dreaded. Many are credited with extra-
ordinary and even miraculous powers, and there can be no
doubt that they often act up to their reputation by performing
almost incredible conjuring tricks in order to impose on the
credulity of the ignorant, or outbid their rivals for the public
favour. Old Richard Johnson of Chancelour's expedition to
Muscovy records how he saw a Samoyed shaman stab himself
with a sword, then make the sword red hot and thrust it
through his body, so that the point protruded at the back, and
Johnson was able to touch it with his finger. They then bound
the wizard tight with a reindeer-rope, and went through some
performances curiously like those of the Davenport brothers
and other modern conjurers\
To the much-discussed question whether the shamans are
impostors, the best answer has perhaps been given by Castren,
who, speaking of the same Samoyed magicians, remarks that
if they were merely chea,ts, we should have to suppose that
they did not share the religious beliefs of their fellow-tribesmen,
but were a sort of rationalists far in advance, of the times.
Hence it would seem much more probable that they deceived
both themselves and others^ while no doubt many bolster up
a waning reputation by playing the mountebank where there
is no danger of detection.
"Shamanisrh amongst the Siberian peoples," concludes
our Russian authority, ".is at the present time in a moribund
condition ; it must die out with those beliefs among which
alone such phenomena can arise and flourish. Buddhism on
the one hand, and Muhammadanism on the other, not to
mention Christianity, are rapidly destroying the old ideas of
the tribes among whom the shamans performed. Especially
has the more ancient Black Faith suffered from the Yellow
Faith preached by the lamas. But the shamans, with their
dark mysterious rites, have made a good struggle for life, and
are still frequently found among the native Christians and
Muhammadans. The mullahs and lamas have even been
obliged to become shamans to a great extent, and many Siberian
tribes, who are nominally Christians, believe in shamans, and
have recourse to them."
' Hakluyt, 1809 ed., I. p. 317 sq.
^ Quoted by Mikhailovskii, p. 144.
viiij The Northern Mongols 279
Of all members of the Tungusic family the Manchus alone
can be called a historical people. If they were really de-
scended from the Khitans of the Sungari valley,
then their authentic records will date from the Manchus.
tei^th century a. d. , when these renowned warriors,
after overthrowing the Pu-hai (925), founded the Liao dynasty
and reduced a great part of North China and surrounding lands.
The Khitans, from whom China was known to Marco Polo as
Khitai (Cathay), as it still is to the Russians, were conquered
in 1 125 by the Niu-chi [Yu-cki, Nu-chin) of the Shan-alin
uplands, reputed cradle of the Manchu race. These Niu-chi,
direct ancestors of the Manchus, founded (i 1 15) origins and
the State known as that of the "Golden Tartars," Early
from Kin, "gold," the title adopted by their Records,
chief Aguta, "because iron (in reference to the Liao, ' Iron '
dynasty) may rust, but gold remains ever pure and bright."
The Kins, however, retained their brightness only a little over
a century, having been eclipsed by Jenghiz-Khan in 1 234. But
about the middle of the fourteenth century the Niu-chi again
rose to power under Aishiu-Gioro, who, although of miraculous
birth and surrounded by other legendary matter, appears to
have been a historical person. He may be regarded as the true
founder of the Manchu dynasty, for it was in his time that this
name came into general use. Sing-tsu, one of his descendants,
constructed the palisade, a feeble imitation of the Great Wall,
sections of which still exist. Thai-tsu, a still more famous
member of the family, greatly extended the Manchu Kingdom
(1580-1626), and it was his son Tai-dsung who first assumed
the imperial dignity under the title of Tai-Tsing. After his
death, the Ming dynasty having been overthrown by a rebel
chief, the Manchus were invited by the imperialists to aid in
restoring order, entered Peking in triumph, and, finding that
the last of the Mings had committed suicide, placed Tai-dsung's
nephew on the throne, thus founding the Manchu dynasty
(1644) which lasted down to 191 2. ,
Such has been the contribution of the Manchu people to
history ; their contributions to arts, letters, science, in a word,
to the general progress of mankind, have been nil. They
found the Middle Kingdom, after ages of a sluggish growth, in
a state of absolute stagnation, and there they have left it. On
the other hand their assumption of the imperial administration
brought about their own ruin, their effacement, and almost their
28o Man : Past and Present [cH,
very extinction as a separate nationality'. Manchuria, like
Mongolia, is organised in a number of half military, half civil
divisions, the so-called Paki, or " Eight Banners," and the
constant demand made on these reserves, to support the dynasty
and supply trustworthy garrisons for all the strongholds of the
empire, has drawn off the best blood of the people, in fact sapped
its vitality at the fountain-head. Then the rich arable tracts
thus depleted were gradually occupied by agricultural settlers
from the south, with the result that the Manchu race has nearly
disappeared. From the ethnical standpoint the whole region
beyond the Great Wall as far north as the Amur has practically
become an integral part of China, and from the political stand-
point since 1898 an integral part of the Russian empire. To-
wards the middle of the nineteenth century the Eight Banners
numbered scarcely more than a quarter of a million, and about
that time the Abb6 Hue declared that "the Manchu nationality
is destroyed beyond recovery. At present we shall look in vain
for a single town or a single village throughout Manchuria
which is not exclusively inhabited by Chinese. The local colour
has been completely effaced, and except a few nomad groups
nobody speaks Manchu^"
Similar testimony is afforded by later observers, and Henry
Lansdell, amongst others, remarks that " the Manchu, during
the two centuries they have reigned in China, may be said to
have been working out their own annihilation. Their manners,
language, their very country has become Chinese, and some
maintain that the Manchu proper are now extinct^"
But the type, so far from being extinct, may be said to have
received a considerable expansion, especially amongst the popu-
lations of north-east China. The taller stature
and greatly superior physical appearance of the
inhabitants of Tien-tsin and surrounding districts' over those
of the southern provinces (Fokien, Kwang-tung), who are the
■ Cf. H. A. Giles, China and the Manchus, 1912.
^ Souvenirs dhtn voyage dans la Tartaric^ 1853, I. 162.
^ Through Siberia, 1882, Vol. II. p. 172.
^ European visitors often notice with surprise the fine physique of these natives,
many of whom average nearly six feet in height. But there is an extraordinary
disparity between the two sexes, perhaps greater than in any other country. The
much smaller stature and feebler constitution of the women is no doubt due to the
detestable custom of crippling the feet in childhood, thereby depriving them of
natural exercise during the period of growth. It may be noted that the anti-foot-
bandaging movement is making progress throughout China, the object being to
abolish the cruel practice by making the kin lien (" golden lilies ") unfashionable,
and the ti mien,' the " heavenly feet," — i.e. the natural — popular in their stead.
viii] The Northern Mongols ' 281
chief representatives of the Chinese race abroad, seem best
explained by continual crossings with the neighbouring Manchu
people, at least since the twelfth century, if not earlier.
Closely related to the Manchus (of the same stock says
Sir H. H. Howorth, the distinction being purely political) are
the Daurt, who give their name to the extensive .^.j^^ ^^^^.j
Daur plateau, and formerly occupied both sides of
the Upper Amur. Daur is, in fact, the name applied by the
Buryats to all the Tungus peoples of the Amur basin. The
Dauri proper, who are now perhaps the best representatives
of the original Manchu type, would seem to have intermingled
at a remote time with the long-headed pre-Mongol populations
of Central Asia. They are "taller and stronger than the Oron-
chons [Tungus groups lower down the Amur]; the countenance
is oval and more intellectual, and the cheeks are less broad.
The nose is rather prominent, and the eyebrows straight.
The skin is tawny, and the hair brown\" Most of these
characters are such as we should expect to find in a people of
mixed Mongolo-Caucasic descent, the latter element being
derived from the long-headed race who had already reached
the present Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, and the adjacent
islands during neolithic times. Thus may be explained the
tall stature, somewhat regular features, brown hair, light eyes,
and even florid complexion so often observed amongst the
present inhabitants of Manchuria, Korea, and parts of North
China.
But no admixture, except of Chinese literary terms, is seen in
the Manchu language, which, like Mongolic, is a typical member
of the agglutinating Ural-Altaic family. Despite
great differences, lexical, phonetic, and even gpeefh.**"
structural, all the members of this widespread
order of speech have in common a number of fundamental
features, which justify the assumption that all spring from an
original stock language, which has long been extinct, and the
germs of which were perhaps first developed on the Tibetan
plateau. The essential characters of the system are: — (i) a
"root" or notional term, generally a closed syllable, nominal
or verbal, with a vowel or diphthong, strong or weak (hard or
soft) according to the meaning of the term, hence incapable of
change ; (2) a number of particles or relational terms somewhat
loosely postfixed to the root, but incorporated with it by the
■1 H. Lansdell, Through Siberia, 1882, 11. p. 172.
282 Man : Past and Present [ch.
principle of (3) vowel harmony, a kind of vocal concordance,
invirtue of which the vowels of all the postfixes must harmonise
with the unchangeable vowel of the root. If this is strong all
the following vowels of the combination, no matter what its
length, must be strong ; if weak they must conform in the same
way. With nominal roots the postfixes are necessarily limited
to the expression of a few simple relations ; but with verbal
roots they are in principle unlimited, so that the multifarious
relations of the verb to its subject and object are all incorporated
in the verbal compound itself, which may thus run at times to
inordinate lengths. " Hence we have the expression " incor-
porating," commonly applied to this agglutinating system,
which sometimes goes so far as to embody the notions of
causality, possibility, passivity, negation, intensity, condition,
and so on, besides the direct pronominal objects, in one in-
terminable conglomerate, which is then treated as a simple
verb, and rurl through all the secondary changes of number,
person, tense, and mood. The result is an endless number of
theoretically possible verbal forms, which, although in practice
naturally limited to the ordinary requirements of speech, are far
too numerous to allow of a complete verbal paradigm being
constructed of any fully developed member of the Ural-Altaic
group, such, for instance, as Yakut, Tungus, Turki, Mord-
vinian, Finnish, or Magyar.
In this system the vowels are classed as strong or hard
{a, 0, u), weak or soft (the same umlauted: a, 0, u), and neutral
{generally e, i), these last being so called because they occur
indifferently with the two other classes. Thus, if the deterr
mining root vowel is a (strong), that of the postfixes may be
either a (strong), e or i (neutral) ; if a (weak), that of the post-
fixes may be either a (weak), or e or i as before. The post-
fixes themselves no doubt were originally notional terms worn
down in form and meaning, so as to express mere abstract
relation, as in the Magyar z/^/=with, from t^^/j' = companion.
Tacked on to the root^ = tree, this will give the ablative case,
first unharmonised, y«-y^/, then harmonised, y«-z'a/= tree-with,
with a tree. In the early Magyar texts of the twelfth century
inharmonic compounds, such as kaldl-nek, later haldk-nak = at
death, are numerous, from which it has been inferred that the
principle of vowel harmony is not an original feature of the
Ural-Altaic languages, but a later development, due in fact to
phonetic decay, and still scarcely known in some members of
viii] The Northern Mongols 283
the group, such as Votyak and Highland Cheremissia:n (Volga
Finn). But M. Lucien Adam holds that these idioms have
lost the principle through foreign (Russian) influence, and that
the few traces still perceptible are survivals from a time when
all the Ural-Altaic tongues were subject to progressive vowel
harmony'.
But however this be, Dean Byrne is disposed to regard the
alternating energetic utterance of the hard, and indolent utter-
ance of the soft vowel series, as an expression of Language
the alternating active and lethargic temperament and Racial
of the race, such alternations being themselves Characters:
due to the climatic conditions of their environment. ' " Certainly
the life of the great nomadic races involves a twofold experience
of this kind, as they must during their abundant summer provide
for their rigorous winter, when little can be done. Their
character, too, involves a striking combination of intermittent
indolence and energy ; and it is very remarkable that this dis-
tinction of roots is peculiar to the languages spoken originally
where this great distinction of seasons exists. The fact that
the distinction [between hard and soft] is imparted to all the
suffixes of a root proves that the radical characteristic which it
expresses is thought with these ; and consequently that the
radical idea is retained in the consciousness while these are
added to it^"
This is a highly characteristic instance of the methods
followed by Dean Byrne in his ingenious but hopeless attempt
to explain the subtle structure of speech by the still more subtle
temperament of the speaker, taken in connection with the
alternating nature of the climate. The feature in question
cannot be due to such alternation of mood and climate, because
it is persistent throughout all seasons, while the hard and soft
elements occur simultaneously, one might say, promiscuously,
in conversation under all mental states of those conversing.
The true explanation is given by Schleicher, who points out
that progressive vocal assimilation is the necessary result of
agglutination, which by this means binds together the idea and
its relations in their outward expression, just as they are already
»
1 De P'Harmonie des Voyelles dans les Langues Uralo-Altaigues, 1874, p. 67 sq.
2 General Principles of the Structure of Language, 1885, Vol. I. p. 357. The
evidence here chiefly relied upon is that afforded by the Yakutic, a pure Turki
idiom, which is spoken in the region of extremest heat and cold (Middle and
Lower Lena basin), and in which the principle of progressive assonance attains its
greatest development.
284 Man : Past and Present [ch.
inseparately associated in the mind of the speaker. Hence it
is that such assonance is not confined to the Ural-Altaic
group, analogous processes occurring at certain stages of their
growth in all forms of speech, as in Wolof, Zulu-Xosa, Celtic
(expressed by the formula of Irish grammarians: "broad to
broad, slender to slender"), and even in Latin, as in such vocalic
concordance as : annus, perennis ; ars, iners ; lego, diligo. In
these examples the root vowel is influenced by that of the prefix,
while in the Mongolo-Turki family the root vowel, coming first,
is unchangeable, but, as explained, influences the vowels of the
postfixes, the phonetic principle being the same in both systems.
Both Mongol and Manchu are cultivated languages employ-
ing modified forms of the Uiguric (Turki) script, which is based
on the Syriac introduced by the Christian (Nes-
Manchu Script, dorian) missionaries .in the seventh century. It
was first adopted by the Mongols about 1 280, and
perfected by the scribe Tsorji Osir under Jenezek Khan (1307-
1 3 1 1). The letters, connected together by continuous strokes,
and slightly modified, as in Syriac, according to their position
at the beginning, middle, or end of the word, are disposed in
vertical columns from left to right, an arrangement due no
doubt to Chinese influence. This is the more probable since
the Manchus, before the introduction of the Mongol system in
the sixteenth century, employed the Chinese characters ever
since the time of the Kin dynasty.
None of the other Tungusic or north-east Siberian peoples
possess any writing system except the Yukaghirs of the
-T-u -.r 1 u- YasachnayaaffluentoftheKolymariver, whowere
The Yukaghirs. ..,.-'_ , , t^ ■ ^ n o oi
visited in 1892 by the Russian traveller, b. Shar-
gorodsky. From his report', it appears that this symbolic
writing is carved with a sharp knife out of soft' fresh birch-bark,
these simple materials sufficing to describe the tracks followed
on hunting and fishing expeditions, as well as the sentiments
of the young women in their correspondence with their sweet-
hearts. Specimens are given of these curious documents, some
of which are touching and even pathetic. "Thou goest hence,
and I bide alone, for thy sake still to weep and moan," writes
one disconsolate maid to her parting lover. Another with a
touch of jealousy : " Thou goest forth thy Russian flame to
seek, who stands 'twixt thee and me, thy heart from me apart to
keep. In a new home joy wilt thou find, while I must ever
' Explained and illustrated by General I<Irahmer in Globus, 1896, p. 208 sq.
viii] The Northern Mongols 285
grieve, as thee I bear in mind, though another yet there be who
loveth me." Or again : " Each youth his mate doth find ; my
fate alone it is of him to dream, who to another wedded is, and
I must fain contented be, if only he forget not me." And with
a note of wail : " Thou hast gone hence, and of late it seems
this place for me is desolate ; and I too forth must fare, that
so the memories old I may forget, and from the pangs thus flee
of those bright days, which here I once enjoyed with thee."
Details of domestic life may even be given, and one accom-
plished maiden is able to make a record in her note-book of the
combs, shawls, needles, thimble, cake of soap, lollipops, skeins
of wool, and other sundries, which she has received from a
Yakut packman, in exchange for some clothes she has made
him. Without illustrations no description of the process would
be intelligible. Indeed it would seem these primitive docu-
ments are not always understood by the young folks them-
selves. They gather at times in groups to watch the process
of composition by some expert damsel, the village " notary,"
and much merriment, we are told, is caused by the blunders of
those who fail to read the text aright.
It is not stated whether the system is current amongst the
other Yukaghir tribes, who dwell on the banks of the Indigirka,
Yana, Kerkodona, and neighbouring districts. They thus
skirt the Frozen Ocean from near the Lena delta to and beyond
the Kolyma, and are conterminous landwards with the Yakuts
on the south-west and the Chukchi on the north-east. With
the Chukchi, the Koryaks, the Kamchadales, and the Gilyaks
they form a separate branch of the Mongolic division some-
times grouped together as " Hyperboreans," but distinguished
from other Ural-Altaic peoples perhaps strictly on linguistic
grounds. Although now reduced to scarcely 1 500, the Yuka-
ghirs were formerly a numerous people, and the popular saying
that their hearths on the hanks of the Kolyma at one time
outnumbered the stars in the sky seems a reminiscence of more
prosperous days. IBut great inroads have been made by epi-
demics, tribal wars, the excessive use of coarse Ukraine tobacco
and of bad spirits, indulged in even by the women and children.
" A Yukaghir, it is said, never intoxicates himself alone, but
calls upon his family to share the drink, even children in
arms being supplied with a portion'." Their language, which
I H. Lansdell, Through Siberia, 1882, i. p. 299.
286 Man : Past and Present [ch.
A. Schiefner regards as radically distinct from all others', is
disappearing even more rapidly than the people themselves,
if it be not already quite extinct. In the eighties it was spoken
only by about a dozen old persons, its place being taken almost
everywhere by the Turki dialect of the Yakutsk
There appears to be a curious interchange of tribal names
between the Chukchi and their Koryak neighbours, the term
Koryak being the Chukchi Khorana, " Rein-
Koryaks-*"'^ deer," while the Koryaks are said to call them-
selves Chauchau, whence some derive the word
Chukchi. Hooper, however, tells us that the proper form of
Chukchi is Tuski, " Brothers," or " Confederates'," and in any
case the point is of little consequence, as Dittmar is probably
right in regarding both groups as closely related, and sprung
originally from one stock^ Jointly they occupy the north-east
extremity of the continent between the Kolyma and Bering
Strait, together with the northern parts of Kamchatka ; the
Chukchi lying to the north, the Koryaks to the south, mainly
round about the north-eastern inlets of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Reasons have already been advanced for supposing that the
Chukchi were a Tungus people who came originally from the
Amur basin. In their arctic homes they appear to have waged
long wars with the Onkilon (Ang-kali) aborigines, gradually
merging with the survivors and also mingling both with the
Koryaks and Chuklukmiut Eskimo settled on the Asiatic side
of Bering Strait.
But their relations to all these peoples are involved in great
obscurity, and while- some connect them with the Itelmes of
Chukchi and Kamchatka^ by others they have been affiliated
Eskimo to the Eskimo, owing to the Eskimo dialect said
Relations. to be Spoken by them. But this "dialect" is only
a trading jargon, a sort of " pidgin Eskimo " current all round
the coast, and consisting of Chukchi, Innuit, Koryak, English,
1 "Ueber die Sprache der Jukagiren," in Mdlanges: Asiatiques, 1859, in. p.
595 sq.
'^ W. I. Jochelson recently discovered two independent Yukaghir dialects.
" Essay on the Grammar of the Yukaghir Language," Annals N. Y. Ac. Sc. 1905 ;
The Yukaghir and the Yukaghirized Tungus. Memoir of the Jesup North Pacific
Expedition, Vol. IX. igio. For the Koryak see his monograph in the same series,
Vol. VI. 1905-8.
5 Ten Months among the Tents of the Tuski.
■* "Ueber die Koriaken u. ihnen nahe verwandten Tchouktchen," in Bui. Acad.
Sc, St Petersburg, xil. p. 99.
? Peschel, liaces of Man, p. 391, who says the Chukchi are "as closely related
to the Itelmes in speech as are Spaniards to Portuguese."
viii] The Northern Mongols 287
and even Hawaii elements, mingled together in varying pro-
portions. The true Chukchi language, of which Nordenskiold
collected 1000 words, is quite distinct from Eskimo, and
probably akin to Koryak', and the Swedish explorer aptly
remarks that " this race, settled on the primeval route between
the Old and New World, bears an unmistakable stamp of the
Mongols of Asia and the Eskimo and Indians of America."
He was much struck by the great resemblance of the Chukchi
weapons and household utensils to those of the Greenland
Eskimo, while Signe Rink shows that even popular legends
have been diffused amongst the populations on both sides of
Bering Strait". Such common elements, however, prove little
for racial affinity, which seems excluded by the extremely round
shape of the Chukchi sk.ull, as compared with the long-headed
Eskimo. But the type varies considerably both
amongst the so-called " Fishing Chukchi," who J^a,*stLte.
occupy permanent stations along the seaboard,
and the " Reindeer Chukchi," who roam the inland districts,
shifting their camping-grounds with the seasons. There are no
hereditary chiefs, and little deference is paid to the authority
even of the owner of the largest reindeer herds, on whom the
Russians have conferred the title of Jerema^ regarding him as
the head of the Chukchi nation, and holding him responsible
for the good conduct of his rude subjects. Although nominal
Christians, they continue to sacrifice animals to the spirits of
the rivers and mountains, and also to practise Shamanist rites.
They believe in an after-life, but only for those who die a
violent death. Hence the resignation and even alacrity with
which the hopelessly infirm and the aged submit, when the time
comes, to be dispatched by their kinsfolk, in accordance with
the tribal custom of kamitok, which still survives in full vigour
amongst the Chukchi, as amongst the Sumatran Battas, and
may be traced in many other parts of the world.
"The doomed one," writes Harry de Windt, "takes a lively
interest in the proceedings, and often assists in the preparation
for his own death. The execution is always preceded by a
feast, where seal and walrus meat are greedily devoured, and
whisky consumed till all are intoxicated. A spontaneous burst
of singing and the muffled roll of walrus-hide drums then herald
1 Petermann's Mitt. Vol. 25, 1S79, p. 138.
2 " The Girl and the Dogs, an Eskimo Folk-tale," Amer. Anthropologist., June
1898, p. 181 sq.
288 Man : Past and Present [ch.
the fatal moment. At a given signal a ring is formed by the
relations and friends, the entire settlement looking on from the
background. The executioner (usually the victim's son or
brother) then steps forward, and placing his right foot behind
the back of the condemned, slowly strangles him to death with
a walrus-thong. A kamitok took place during the latter part
of our stay\"
This custom of "voluntary death" is sometimes due to
sorrow at the death of a near relative, a quarrel at home, or
merely weariness of life, and Bogoras thinks that the custom
of killing old people does not exist as such, but is voluntarily
chosen in preference to the hard life of an invalid ^
Most recent observers have come to look upon the Chukchi
and Koryaks as essentially one and the same people, the chief
difference being that the latter are if possible even
Kamc^daies. rnof^ degraded than their northern neighbours'.
Like them they are classed as sedentary fisher-
folk or nomad reindeer-owners, the latter, who call themselves
Tumugulu, "Wanderers," roaming chiefly between Ghiyiginsk
Bay and the Anadyr river. Through them the Chukchi merge
gradually in the Itelmes, who are better known as Kamchadales,
from the Kamchatka river, where they are now chiefly concen-
trated. Most of the Itelmes are already Russified in speech
and — outwardly at least — in religion ; but they still secretly
immolate a dog now and then, to propitiate the malevolent
beings who throw obstacles in the way of their hunting and
fishing expeditions. Yet their very existence depends on their
canine associates, who are of a stout, almost wolfish breed,
inured to hunger and hardships, and excellent for sledge
work.
Somewhat distinct both from all these Hyperboreans and
from their neighbours, the Orochons, Golds, Manegrs and
Th Gil ks other Tungus peoples, are the Gilyaks, formerly
^ ■ widespread, but now confined to the Amur delta
and the northern parts of Sakhalin \ Some observers have
1 Through the Gold Fields of Alaska to Bering Strait, 1898.
^ Cf. W. Bogoras, The Chukchee, Memoir of the Jesup North Pacific Expe-.
dition. Vol. vn. 1904-10.
^ This, however, applies only to the fishing Koryaks, for G. Kennan speaks
highly of the domestic virtues, hospitality, and other good qualities of the nomad
groups {Tent Life in Siberia, 1871).
* See L. Sternberg, The Tribes of the Amur River, Memoirs of the Jesup
North Pacific Expedition, Vol. iv. 1900.
viii] The Northern Mongols 289
connected them with the Ainu and the Korean aborigines, while
A. Anuchin detects two types — a Mongoloid with sparse beard,
high cheek-bones, and flat face, and a Caucasic with bushy
beard and more regular features\ The latter traits have been
attributed to Russian mixture, but, as conjectured by H. von
Siebold, are more probably due to a fundamental connection
with their Ainu neighbours^
Mentally the Gilyaks take a low position^H. Lansdell
thought the lowest of any people he had met in Siberia*.
Despite the zeal of the Russian missionaries, and the induce-
ments to join the fold, they remain obdurate Shamanists, and
even fatalists, so that "if one falls into the water the others
will not help him out, on the plea that they would thus be
opposing a higher power, who wills that he should perish
The soul of the Gilyak is supposed to pass at death into his
favourite dog, which is accordingly fed with choice food ; and
when the spirit has been prayed by the shamans out of the dog,
the animal is sacrificed on his master's grave. The soul is then
represented as passing underground, lighted and guided by its
own sun and moon, and continuing to lead there, in its spiritual
abode, the same manner of life and pursuits as in the flesh\"
A speciality of the Gilyaks, as well as of their Gold neigh-
bours, is the fish-skin costume, made from the skins of two
kinds of salmon, and from this all these aborigines are known
to the Chinese as Yupitatse, "Fish-skin-clad- People." "They
strip it off with great dexterity, and by beating with a mallet
remove the scales, and so render it supple. Clothes thus made
are waterproof. I saw a travelling-bag, and even the sail of a
boat, made of this material'."
Like the Ainu, the Gilyaks may be called bear-worshippers.
At least this animal is supposed to be one of their chief gods,
although they ensnare him in winter, keep him in confinement,
and when well fattened tear him to pieces, devouring his
mangled remains with much feasting and jubilation.
Since the opening up of Korea, some fresh light has been
thrown upon the origins and ethnical relations of its present
inhabitants. In his monograph on the Yellow Races' Hamy
1 Mem. Imp. Soc. Nat. Sc. xx. Supplement, Moscow, 1877.
2 "Scheinen grosse Aenlichkeit in Sprache, Gesichtsbildung und Sitten mit
den Aino zu haben" {Ueber die Aino, Berlin, 1881, p. 12).
3 Through Siberia, 1882, 11. p. 227.
* Ibid. p. 235. ' Jbtd p. 221.
6 L Anthropologie, vi. No. 3.
K. ^9
290 Mail : Past and Present [ch.
had included them in the Mongol division, but not without
reserve, adding that " while some might , be
taken for Tibetans, others look like an Oceanic
cross ; hence the contradictory reports and theories of modern
travellers." Since then the study of some skulls forwarded to
Paris has enabled him to clear up some of the confusion, which
is obviously due to interminglings of different elements dating
from remote (neolithic) times. On the data supplied by these
skulls Hamy classes the Koreans in three groups: — i. The
natives of the northern provinces (Ping-ngan-tao and Hien-
king-tao), strikingly like their Mongol [Tungus] neighbours ;
2. Those of the southern provinces (Kling-
Eleraents chang-tao and Thsiusan-lo-tao), descendants of
the ancient Chinhans and Pien-hans, showing
Japanese affinities; 3. Those of the inner provinces (Hoang-
hae-tao and Ching-tsing-tao), who present a transitional form
between the northerns and southerns, both in their physical
type and geographical position'.
Caucasic features — light eyes, large nose, hair often brown,
full beard, fair and even white skin, tall stature — are conspicuous,
especially amongst the upper classes and many of the southern
Koreans^ They are thus shown to be a mixed race, the
Mongol element dominating in the north, as might be expected,
and the Caucasic in the south.
These conclusions seem to be confirmed by what is known
of the early movements, migrations, and displacements of the
populations in north-east Asia about the dawn
and Records'"^ of history. In these vicissitudes the Koreans, as
they are now called', appear to have first taken
part in the twelfth century B.C., when the peninsula was already
occupied, as it still is, by Mongols, the Sien-pi, in the north,
' Bui. du Musium d'Hist. Nat. 1896, No. 4. All the skulls were brachy or
sub-brachy, varying from 81 to 83 "8 and 84'8. The author remarks generally that
" photographes et cranes different, du tout au tout, des choses similaires venues
jusqu'k present de Mongolie et de Chine, et font plut6t penser au Japon, k For-
mose, et d'une manifere plus gdndrale k ce vaste ensemble de peuples maritimes
que Lesson ddsignait jadis sous le nora de 'Mongols-pdlasgiens,'" p. 3.
2 On this juxtaposition of the yellow and blond types in Korea V. de Saint-
Martin's language is highly significative: "Cette duality de type, un type tout k
fait caucasique k c6td du type mongol, est un fait commun k toute la ceinture d'lles
qui couvre les c&tes orientales de I'Asie, depuis les Kouriles jusqu'k Formose, et
mSme jusqu'k la zone orientale de I'Indo-Chine" {Art. Corde, p. 800).
^ From Korai, in Japanese Kome (Chinese Kaolt), name of a petty state, which
enjoyed political predominance in the peninsula 'for about 500 years (tenth to four-
teenth century A.D.). An older designation still in official use is Tsio-sien, that is, the
Chinese Chao-sien, "Bright Dawn" (Klaproth, Asia Polyglotta, p. 334 sq.).
viii] The Northern Mo^igols 291
and in the south by several branches of the Hans [San-San),
of whom it is recorded that they spoke a language unintelligible
to the Sien-pi, and resembled the Japanese in appearance,
manners, and customs. From this it may be inferred that the
Hans were the true aborigines, probably direct descendants of
the Caucasic peoples of the New Stone Age, while the Sien-
pi were Mongolic (Tungusic) intruders from the present Man-
churia. For some time these Sien-pi played a leading part in
the political convulsions prior and subsequent to the erection
of the Great Wall by Shih Hwang Ti, founder of the Tsin
dynasty (221-209 b.c.)\ Soon after the completion of this
barrier, the Hiiing-nu, no longer able to scour the fertile plains
of the Middle Kingdom, turned their arms against the neigh-
bouring Yud-chi, whom they drove westwards to the Sungarian
valleys. Here they were soon displaced by the Usuns {Wu-
sun), a fair, blue-eyed people of unknown .origin, who have
been called "Aryans," and even "Teutons," and whom Ch. de
Ujfalvy identifies with the tall long-headed western blonds (de
Lapouge's Homo Europaeus), mixed with brown round-headed
hordes of white complexion ^ Accepting this view, we may go
further, and identify the Usuns, as well as the other white
peoples of the early Chinese records, with the already described
Central Asiatic Caucasians of the Stone Ages, whose osseous
remains we now possess, and who come to the surface in the
very first Chinese documents dealing- with the turbulent popu-
lations beyond the Great Wall. The white element, with all
the correlated characters, existed beyond all question, for it is
continuously referred to in those documents. How -is its
presence in East Central Asia, including Manchuria and Korea,
' This stupendous work, on which about 1,000,000 hands are said to have been
engaged for five years, possesses great ethnical as well as political importance.
Running for over 1500 miles across hills, valleys, and rivers along the northern
frontier of China proper, it long arrested the southern movements of the restless
Mongolo-Turki hordes, and thus gave a westerly direction to their incursions
many centuries before the great invasions of Jenghiz-Khan and his successors. It
is strange to reflect that the ethnological relations were thus profoundly disturbed
throughout the eastern hemisphere by the work of a ruthless despot who reigned
only twelve years, and in that time waged war against all the best traditions of the
empire, destroying the books of Confucius and the other sages, and burying alive
460 men of letters for their efforts to rescue those writings from total extinction.
2 Les Aryens au Nord et au Sud de PHindou-Kouch, 1896, p. 25. This writer
does not think that the Usuns should be identified with the tall race of horse-like
face, large nose, and deep-set eyes mentioned in the early Chinese records, be-
cause no reference is made to "blue eyes," which would not have been omitted
had they existed. But, if I remember, " green eyes " are spoken of, and we know
that none of the early writers use colour terms with strict accuracy.
19 — -2
292 Man: Past and Present [ch.
to be explained ? Only on two assumptions— /ro^o-^w^rzlc
migrations from the Far West, barred by the proto-historic
migrations from the Far East, as largely determined by the
erection of the Great Wall ; or pre-historic (neolithic) migra-
tions, also from the Far West, but barred by no serious obstacle,
because antecedent to the arrival of the proto-Mongolic tribes
from the Tibetan plateau. The true solution of the endless
ethnical complications in the extreme East, as in the Oceanic
world, will still be found in the now-demonstrated presence of
a Caucasic element antecedent to the Mongol in those regions.
When the Hiung-nu' power was weakened by their westerly
migrations to Sungaria and south-west Siberia (Upper Irtysh
and Lake Balkash depression), and broken into two sections
during their wars with the two Han dynasties (201 b.c-
220 A.D.), the Korean Sien-pi became the dominant nation north
of the Great Wall. After destroying the last vestiges of the
unstable Hiung-nu empire, and driving the Mongolo-Turki
hordes still westwards, the Yuan-yuans, most powerful of all
the Sien-pi tribes, remained masters of East Central Asia for
about 400 years and then disappeared from history ^ At least
after the sixth century a.d. no further mention is made of the
Sien-pi principalities either in Manchuria or in Korea. Here,
however, they appear still to form a dominant element in the
northern (Mongol) provinces, calling themselves Ghirin
(Khirin), from the Khirin (Sungari) valley of the Amur, where
they once held sway.
' I have not thought it desirable to touch on the interminable controversy
respecting the ethnical relations of the Hiung-nu, regarding them, not as a distinct
ethnical group, but like the Huns, their later virestern representatives, as a hetero-
geneous collection of Mongol, Tungus, Turki, and perhaps even Finnish hordes
under a Mongol military caste. At the same time I have little doubt that Mon-
golo-Tungus elements greatly predominated in the eastern regions (Mongolia
proper,' Manchuria) both amongst the Hiung-nu and their Yuan-yuan (Sien-pi)
successors, and that all the founders of the first great empires prior to that of the
Turki Assena in the Altai region (sixth century a.d.) were full-blood Mongols, as
indeed recognised by Jenghiz-Khan himself For the migrations of these and
neighbouring peoples, consult A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of Peoples, 191 1,
pp. 16 and 28.
2 On the authority of the Wei-Shu documents contained in the Wei-Chi,
E. H. Parker gives (in the China Review and A Thousand Years of the Tartars,
Shanghai, 1895) the dates 386-556 a.d. as the period covered by the "Sien-pi
Tartar dynasty of Wei." This is not to be confused with the Chinese dynasty of
Wei (224-264, or according to Kwong Ki-Chiu 234-274 A.D.). The term "Tartar"
(Ta-Ta), it may be explained, is used by Parker, as well as by the Chinese
historians generally, in a somewhat wide sense, so as to include all the nomad
populations north of the Great Wall, whether of Tungus (Manchu), Mongol, or
even Turki stock. The original tribes bearing the name were Mongols, and
Jenghiz-Khan himself was a Tata on his mother's side.
viii] The Northern Mongols 293
Since those days Korea has been alternately a vassal State
and a province of the Middle Kingdom, with interludes of
Japanese ascendancy, interrupted only by the four centuries of
Korai ascendancy (934-1368). This was the most brilliant
epoch in the national records, when Korea was rather the ally
than the vassal of China, and when trade, industry, and the arts,
especially porcelain and bronze work, flourished in the land.
But by centuries of subsequent misrule, a people endowed with
excellent natural qualities have been reduced to the lowest state
of degradation. Before the reforms introduced by the political
events of 1895-96, "the country was eaten up by officialism.
It is not only that abuses without number prevailed, but the
whole system of government was an abuse, a sea of corruption,
without a bottom or a shore, an engine of robbery, crushing
the life out of all industry^" But an improvement was speedily
remarked. "The air of the men has undergone a subtle and
real change, and the women, though they nominally keep up
their habits by seclusion, have lost the hang-dog air which dis-
tinguished them at home. The alacrity of movement is a
change also, and has replaced the conceited swing of the yang-
ban [nobles] and the heartless lounge of the peasant." This
improvement was merely temporary. The last years of the cen-
tury were marked by the waning of Japanese influence, due
to Russian intrigues, the restoration of absolute monarchy
together with its worst abuses, the abandonment of reforms
and a retrograde movement throughout the kingdom. The
successes of Japan in 1904-5 resulted in the restoration of her
ascendancy, culminating in 19 10 in the cession of sovereignty
by the emperor of Korea to the emperor of Japan.
The religious sentiment is perhaps less developed than
among any other Asiatic people. Buddhism, introduced about
380A.D., never took root, and while the literati axe. .
satisfied with the moral precepts of Confucius, the
rest have not progressed beyond the nature-worship which
was the ancient religion of the land. Every mountain, pass,
ford or even eddy of a river has a spirit to whom offerings
are made. Honour is also paid to ancestors, both royal and
domestic, at their temples or altars, and chapels are built and
dedicated to men who have specially distinguished themselves
in loyalty, virtue or lofty teaching.
Philologists now recognise some affinity between the Korean
' Mrs Bishop, Korea and Her Neighbours, 1898.
294 Man: Past and Present [ch,
and Japanese languages, both of which appear to be remotely
connected with the ' Ural-Altaic family. The
Scrip^"'^^^ Koreans possess a true alphabet of 28 letters,
which, however, is not a local invention, as is
sometimes asserted. It appears to have been introduced by
the Buddhist monks about or before the tenth, century, and to
be based oh some cursive form of the Indian (Devanagari)
system^ although scarcely any resemblance can now be traced
between the two alphabets. This script is little used except
by the lower classes and the women, the literati preferring to
write either in Chinese, or else in the so-called nido, that is, an
adaptation of the Chinese symbols to the phonetic expression
of the Korean syllables. The nido is exactly analogous to the
Japanese Katakana script, in which modified forms of Chinese
ideographs are used phonetically to" express 47 syllables (the
so-called /-ro-_/a syllabary), raised to 73 by the nigori2L.v^d. maru
diacritical marks.
The present population of Japan, according to E. Baelz,
shows the following types. The first and most important is the
Manchu-Korean type, characteristic of North
China and Korea, and most frequent among the
upper classes in Japan. The stature is conspicuously tall, the
effect being heightened by slender and elegant figure. The
face is long, with more or less oblique eyes but no marked
prominence of the cheek-bones. The nose is aquiline, the chin
slightly receding. With this type is associated a narrow chest,
giving an air of elegance rather than of muscularity, an effect
which is enhanced by the extremely delicate hands with long
slender fingers. The second type is the Mongol, and presents
a distinct contrast, with strong and squarely built figure, broad
face, prominent cheek-bones, oblique eyes, flat nose and wide
mouth. This type is not common in the Japanese Islands.
The third type, more conspicuous than either of the preceding,
is the "Malay. The stature is small, with well-knit frame, and
broad, well-developed chest. The face is generally round, the
nose short, jaws and chin frequently projecting. None of these
three types represents the aboriginal race of Japan, for there
seems to be no doubt that the Ainu, who now survive in parts
^ T. de Lacouperie says on " a Tibeto-Indian base " {Beginnings of Writing
in Central and Eastern Asia, 1894, p. 148); and E. H. Parker: "It. is demon-
strable that the Korean letters are an adaptation from the Sanskrit," i.e. the
Devanagari {Academy, Dec. 21, 1895, p. 550).
viii] The Northern Mongols 295
of the northern island of Yezo, occupied a greater area in earlier
times and to them the prehistoric shell-mounds and other
remains are usually attributed'. The Ainu are thickly and
strongly built, but differ from all other Oriental types in the
hairiness of face and body. The head is long, with a cephalic
index of 77-8. Face and nose are broad, and the eyes are hori
zontal, not oblique, lacking the Mongolian fold.
It is generally assumed that this population represents the
easterly migration of that long-headed type which can be traced
across the continents of Europe and Asia in the origins-
Stone Age, and that their ' entrance into the Constituent
islands was effected at a time when the channel Elements,
separating them from the mainland was neither so wide nor so
deep as at the present time. Later Manchu- Korean invaders
from the West, Mongols from the South, and Malays from the
East pressed the aborigines further and further north, to Yezo,
Sakhalin and the Kuriles. But it is possible that the Ainu
were not the earliest inhabitants of Japan, for they themselves
bear witness to predecessors, the Koro-pok-guru, mentioned
above (p. 260). Neither is the assumption of kinship between
the Ainu and prehistoric populations of Western Europe
accepted without demur. Deniker, while acknowledging the
resemblance to certain European types, classes the Ainu as a
separate race, the •Palaeasiatics. For while in head-length,
prominent superciliary ridges, hairiness and the form of the nose
they may be compared to Russians, Todas, and Australians,
their skin colour, prominent cheek-bones, and other somatic
features make any close affinity impossible^ •
In spiteof thesevarious ingredients the Japanese peoplemay
be regarded as fairly homogeneous. Apart from some tall and
robust persons amongst the upper classes, and
athletes, acrobats, and wrestlers, the general im-
pression that the Japanese are a short finely moulded race is fully
borne out by the now regularly recorded military measurements
of recruits, showing for height an average of I "5 8 5 m. (5 ft. 2|^in.)
to I "639 m. (5 ft. 4^ in.), for chest 33 in., and disproportionately
short legs. Other distinctive characters, all tending to stamp
a certain individuality on the people, taken as a whole and
1 See p. 261. Also Koganei, "Ueber die Urbewohner von ]a.psin," Miii. d.
Deutsch. Gesell. f. Natur- u. Volkerkunde Ostasiens, ix. 3, 1903, containing an '
exhaustive review of recent literature, and N. G. Munro, Prehistoric Japan, 191 2.
2 J. Deniker, Races of Man, 1900, pp. 371-2. See also J. Batchelor, The Ainu
0/ Japan, 1892, and the article "Ainus" in Ency. 0/ Religion and Ethics, 1908.
296 Man: Past and Present [ch.
irrespective of local peculiarities, are a flat forehead, great
distance between the eyebrows, a very small nose with raised
nostrils, no glabella, no perceptible nasal root^ ; an active, wiry
figure; the exposed skin less yellow than the Chinese, and rather
inclining to a light fawn, but the covered parts very light, some
say even white ; the eyes also less oblique, and all other charac-
teristically Mongol features generally softened, except the black
lank hair, which in transverse section is perhaps even rounder
than that of most other Mongol peoples".
With this it will be instructive to compare F. H. H. Guille-
mard's graphic account of the Liu-Kiu islanders, whose Koreo-
Japanese affinities are now placed beyond all doubt : " They
are a short race, probably even shorter than the Japanese, but
much better proportioned, being without the long bodies and
short legs of thfe latter people, and having as a rule extremely
well-developed chests. The colour of the skin varies of course
with the social position of the individual. Those who work in
the fields, clad only in a waist-cloth, are nearly as dark as a
Malay, but the upper classes are much fairer, and are at the
same time devoid of any of the yellow tint of the Chinaman.
To the latter race indeed they cannot be said to bear any re-
semblance, and though the type is much closer to the Japanese,
it is nevertheless very distinct In Liu-Kiu the Japanese and
natives were easily recognised by us from the first, and must
Japanese and therefore be possessed of very considerable dififer-
Liu-Kiu ences. The Liu-Kiuan has theface less flattened,
Islanders. £]-,g gygg g^j-g more deeply set, and the nose more
prominent at its origin. The forehead is high and the cheek-
bones somewhat less marked than in the Japanese ; the eye-
brows are arched and thick, and the eyelashes long. The
expression Is gentle and pleasing, though somewhat sad, and
is apparently a true index of their character'."
This description is not accepted without some reserve by
Chamberlain, who in fact holds that "the physical type of the
Luchuans resembles that of the Japanese almost to identity*."
In explanation however of the singularly mild, inoffensive, and
" even timid disposition " of the Liu-Kiuans, this observer
suggests "the probable absence of any admixture of Malay
' G. Baudens, Bui. Soc. Geogr. X. p. 419.
2 See especially E. Baelz, " Die korperlichen Eigenschaften der Japaner," in
Mitt, der Deutsch. Gesell.J. Natur- u. Volkerkunde Ostasiens, 28 and 32. •
^ Cruise of the Marchesa, 1886, I. p. 36.
' Geogr. Journ. 1895, 11. p. 318.
viii] The Northern Mongols 297
blood in the race\" But everybody admits a Malay element
in Japan. It would therefore appear that Guillemard must be»
right, and that, as even shown by all good photographs, dififer-
ences do exist, due in fact to the presence of this very Malay
^ straiif in the Japanese race.
Elsewhere' Chamberlain has given us a scholarly account
of the Liu-Kiu language, which is not merely a " sister," as he
says, but obviously an elder sister, more archaic
in structure and partly in its phonetics, than the Jn'^j ReSf*^
oldest known form of Japanese. In the verb, for
instance, Japanese retains only one past tense of the indicative,
with but one grammatical form, whereas Liu-Kiuan preserves
the three original past tenses, each of which possesses a five-
fold inflection. All these racial, linguistic, and even mental
resemblances, such as the fundamental similarity of many of
their customs and ways of thought, he would explain with much
probability by the routes followed by the first emigrants from
the mainland. While the great bulk spread east and north
over the great archipelago, everywhere "driving the aborigines
before them," a smaller stream may have trended southward
to the little southern group, whose islets stretch like stepping-
stones the whole way from Japan to Great Liu-Kiul
Amongst the common mental traits, mention is made of the
Shinto religion, "the simplest and most rustic form" of which
still survives in Liu-Kiu. Here, as in Japan, it
was originally a rude system of nature-worship, oead"^*^
the normal development of which was arrested
by Chinese and Buddhist influences. Later it became associated
with spirit-worship, the spirits being at first the souls of the
■ dead, and although there is at present no cult of the dead, in the
strict sense of the expression, the Liu-Kiu islanders probably
pay more respect to the departed than any other people in the
world.
In Japan, Shintoism, as reformed in recent times, has be-
come much more a political institution than a religious system.
The Kami-no-michi, that is, the Japanese form
of the Chinese Shin-to, "way of the Gods," or
" spirits," is not merely the national faith, but is inseparably
bound up with the interests of the reigning dynasty, holding
the Mikado to be the direct descendant of the Sun-goddess
' Geogr. Journ. 1895, 11. p. 460.
2 Journ. Anthrop. Soc. 1897, p. 47 sq. ' Ibid. p. 58.
298 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Hence its three cardinal precepts now are : — i. Honour the
iCami (spirits), of whom the emperor is the chief representative
on earth ; 2. Revere him as thy sovereign ; 3. Obey the will
of his Court, and that is the whole, duty of man. There is
no moral code, and loyal expositors have declared that the
Mikado's will is the only test of right and wrong.
But apart from this political exegesis, Shintoism in its higher
form may be called a cultured deism, in its lower a " blind
obedience to governmental and priestly dictates \" There are
dim notions about a supreme creator, immortality, and even
rewards and penalties in the after-life. Some also talk vaguely,
as a pantheist might, of a sublime being or essence pervading
all nature, too vast and ethereal to be personified or addressed
in prayer, identified with ih^tenka, "heavens," from which all
things emanate, to which all return. Yet, although a personal
deity seems thus excluded, there are Shinto temples, apparently
for the worship of the heavenly bodies and powers of nature,
conceived as self-existing personalities — the so-called Kami,
"spirits," "gods," of which there are "eight millions," that is,
they are countless.
One cannot but suspect that some of these notions have
been grafted on the old national faith by Buddhism, which
T, j,j,^- was introduced about sSoa.d. and for a time had
Buddhism. t i • u i_
great vogue. It was encouraged especially by
the Shoguns, or military usurpers of the Mikado's^ functions,
obviously as a set-off against the Shinto theocracy. During
their tenure of power (i 192-1868 a.d.) the land was covered^
with Buddhist shrines and temples, some of vast size and quaint
design, filled with hideous idols, huge bells, and colossal statues
of Buddha.
But with the fall of the Shogun the little prestige still en-
joyed by Buddhism came to an end, and the temples, spoiled
of their treasures, have more than ever become the resort of
pleasure-seekers rather than of pious worshippers. "To all
the larger temples are attached regular spectacles, playhouses,
panoramas, besides lotteries, games of various sorts, including
the famous 'fan-throwing,' and shooting-galleries, where the
bow and arrow and the blow-pipe take the place of the rifle.
' Ripley and Dana, Amer. Cyc. ix. 538.
^ Shogun from 5A£?=general, and ^«^>« = army, hence Commander-in-chief;
Mikado ham »22 = sublime, and kado—%z.\.e., with which cf. the "Sublime Porte"
(J. J. Rein, Japan nach Reisen u. Studien, 1881, 1, p. 245). But Mikado has become
somewhat antiquated, being now generally replaced by the title Kotei, " Emperor."
vni] The Northern Mongols 299
The accumulated treasures of the priests have been confiscated,
the monks driven from their monasteries, and many of these
buildings converted into profane uses. Countless temple bells
have already found their way to America, or have been sold
for old metal \"
Besides these forms of belief, there is a third religious, -or
rather philosophic system, the so-called Siza, based on the
ethical teachings of Confucius, a sort of refined materialism,
such as underlies the whole religious thought of the nation.
Siza, always confined to the literati, has in recent years found
a formidable rival in the " English Philosophy," represented
by such writers as Buckle, Mill, Herbert Spencer, Darwin, and
Huxley, most of whose works have already been translated
into Japanese.
Thus this highly gifted people are being assimilated to the
western world in their social and religious, as well as their
political institutions. Their intellectual powers, already tested
in the fields of war, science, diplomacy, and self-government,
are certainly superior to those of all other Asiatic peoples, and
this is perhaps the best guarantee for the stability of the stu-
pendous transformation that a single generation has witnessed
from an exaggerated form of medieval feudalism to a political
and social system in harmony with the most advanced phases
of modern thought. The system has doubtless not yet pene-
trated to the lower strata, especially amongst the rural popula-
tions. But their natural receptivity, combined with a singular
freedom from " insular prejudice," must ensure the ultimate
acceptance of the new order by all classes of the community.
^ Keane's Asia, I. p. 487.
CHAPTER IX
THE NORTHERN MONGOLS (continued)
The Finno-Turki Peoples — Assimilation to the Caucasic Type — Turki Cradle — •
Ural-Altaian Invasions — The Scythians-^Parthians and Turkomans — Massa-
getae and Yue-chi — Indo-Scythians and Graeco-Baktrians — Dahae, Jit, and
Rdjput Origins — The " White' Huns " — The Uigurs — Orkhon Inscriptions —
The Assena Turki Dynasty — Toghuz-Uigur Empire — Kashgarizin and Sun-
garian Populations — The Oghuz Turks and their Migrations — Seljuks and
Osmanli — The Yakuts — The Kirghiz — Kazdk and Kossack — The Kara-
Kirghiz — The Finnish Peoples — Former and Present Domain — Late West-
ward Spread of the Finns — The Bronze and Iron Ages in the Finnish Lands —
The Baltic Finns — Relations to Goths, Letts, and Slavs — Finno-Russ Origins
— Tavastian and Karelian Finns — The Kwaens^The Lapps— Samoyeds and
Permian Finns — Lapp Origins and Migrations — Temperament — Religion —
The Volga Finns — The Votyak Pagans — Human Sacrifices — The Bulgars —
Origins and Migrations — An Ethnical Transformation — Great and. Little
Bulgaria — Avars and Magyars — Magyar Origins and early Records — Present
Position of the Magyars — Ethnical and Linguistic Relations in Eastern
Europe.
In a very broad way all the western branches of the North
Mongol division may be comprised under the collective desig-
nation of Finno-Turki Mongols. Jointly they
Turki Peoples constitute a well-marked section of the family,
being distinguished from the eastern section by
several features which they have in common, and the most
important of which is unquestionably a much larger infusion
of Caucasic blood than is seen in any of the Mongolo-Tungusic
groups. So pronounced is this feature amongst many Finnish
as well as Turkish peoples, that some anthropologists have felt
inclined to deny any direct connection between the eastern
and western divisions of Mongolian man and to regard the
Baltic Finns, for instance, rather as " Allophylian White§ "
than as original members of the yellow race. Prichard, to
Assimilation to whom we owe this now nearly obsolete term
the Caucasic " Allophylian," held this view', and even Sayce
^yP^" is "more than doubtful whether we can class the
Mongols physiologically with the Turkish-Tatars [the Turki
peoples], or the Ugro-Finnsl"
' Natural History of Man, 1865 ed. pp. 185-6.
2 Science of Language, 1879, II. p. 190.
CH. ix] The Northern Mongols 301
It may, Indeed, be allowed that at present the great majority
of the Finno-Turki populations occupy a position amongst the
varieties of mankind which is extremely perplexing for the
strict systematist. When the whole division is brought under
survey, every shade of transition is observed between the
Siberian Samoyeds of the Finnic branch and the steppe Kirghiz
of the Turki branch on the one hand, both of whom show
Mongol characters in an exaggerated form, and on the other
the Osmanli Turks and Hungarian Magyars, most of whom
may be regarded as typical Caucasians. Moreover, the diffi-
culty is increased by the fact, already pointed out, that these
mixed Mongolo-Caucasic characters occur not only amongst
the late historic groups, but also amongst the earliest known
groups — " Chudes," Usuns, Uigurs and others — who may be
called Proto- Finnish and Proto- Turki peoples. But precisely
herein lies the solution of the problem. Most of the region
now held by Turki and Finnish nations was originally occupied
by long-headed Caucasic men of the late Stone Ages (see
above). Then followed the Proto- Mongol intruders from the
Tibetan table-land, who partly submerged, partly intermingled
with their neolithic neighbours, many thus acquiring those
mixed characters by which they have been distinguished from
the earliest historic times. Later, further interminglings took
place according as the Finno-Turki hordes, leaving their original
seats in the Altai and surrounding regions, advanced westwards
and came more and more into contact with the European
populations of Caucasic type.,
We may therefore conclude that the majority of the Finno-
Turki were almost from the first a somewhat mixed race, and
that during historic times the original Mongol element has
gradually yielded to the Caucasic in the direction from east to
west. Such is the picture now presented by these heterogeneous
populations, who in their primeval eastern seats are still mostly
typical Mongols, but have been more and more assimilated to
the European type in their new Anatolian, Baltic, Danubian,
and Balkan homes.
Observant travellers have often been impressed by this
progressive conformity of the Mongolo-Turki to Europeans.
During his westward journey through Central Asia Young-
husband, on passing from Mongolia to Eastern Turkestan,
found that the people, though tall and fine-looking, had at
first more of the Mongol cast of feature than he had expected.
302 Man: Past and Present [ch.
" Their faces, however, though somewhat round, were slightly
more elongated than the Mongol, and there was considerably
more intelligence about them. But there was more roundness,
less intelligence, less sharpness in the outlines* than is seen in
the inhabitants of Kashgar and Yarkand." Then he adds:
"As I proceeded westwards I noticed a gradual, scarcely per-
ceptible, change from the round of a Mongolian type to a
sharper and yet more sharp type of feature As we get farther
away from Mongolia, we notice that the faces become gradually
longer and narrower ; and farther west still, among -some of
the inhabitants of Afghan Turkestan, we see that the Tartar
or Mongol type of feature is almost entirely lost\" To com-
plete the picture it need only be added that still further west,
in Asia Minor, the Balkan Peninsula, Hungary, and Finland,
the Mongol features are often entirely lost. " The Turks of
the west have so much Aryan and Semitic blood in them,
that the last vestiges of their original physical characters have
been lost, and their language alone indicates their previous
desc6ntl"
Before they were broken up and dispersed over half
the northern. hemisphere by Mongol pressure from the east,
T w r rfi ^^^ primitive Turki tribes dwelt, according to
Howorth, mainly between the Ulugh-dagh moun-
tains and the Orkhon river in Mongolia, that is, along the
southern slopes and spurs of the Altai-Sayan system from the
head waters of the Irtysh to the valleys draining north to Lake
Baikal. But the Turki cradle is. shifted farther east by Richt-
hofen, who thinks that their true home lay between the Amur,
the Lena, and the Selenga, where at one time they had their
camping-grounds in close proximity to their Mongol and
Tungus kinsmen. There is nothing to show that the Yakuts,
who are admittedly of Turki stock, ever migrated to their
present northern homes in the Lena basin, which has more
probably always been their native land I
But when they come within the horizon of history the Turki
are already a numerous nation, with a north-western and south-
' The Heart of a Continent, 1896, p. 118.
- O. Peschel, Races of Man, 1894, p. 380.
2 See Ch. de Ujfalvy, Les Aryens, etc., 1896, p. 25. Reference should perhaps
be also made to E. H. Parker's theory {Academy, Dec. 21, 1895) ^'^^ ^^ Turki
cradle lay, not in the Altai or Altun-dagh (" Golden Mountains ") of North- Mon-
golia, but 1000 miles farther south in the " Golden Mountains " {Kin-shan) of the
present Chinese province of Kansu. But the evidence relied on is not satis-
factory, and indeed in one or two important instances is not evidence at all.
ix] The Northern Mongols 303
eastern division \ which may well have jointly occupied the
whole region from the Irtysh to the Lena, and both views may
thus be reconciled. In any case the Turki domain lay^west of
the Mongol, and the Altai uplands, taken in the widest sense,
may still be regarded as the most probable zone of specialisation
for the Turki physical type. The typical characteristics are a
yellowish white complexion, a high brachycephalic head, often
almost cuboid, due to parieto-occipital flattening (especially
noticeable among the Yakuts), an elongated oval face, with
straight, somewhat prominent nose, and non- Mongolian eyes.
The stature is moderate, with an average of r675m. (5 ft.
6 in.), and a tendency to stoutness.
Intermediate between the typical Turki and the Mongols
Hamy places the Uzbegs, Kirghiz, Bashkirs, and Nogais; and
between the Turks and Finns those extremely mixed groups
of East Russia commonly but wrongly called " Tartars," as
well as other transitions between Turk, Slav, Greek, Arab,
Osmanli of Constantinople, Kurugli of Algeria and others,
whose study shows the extreme difficulty of accurately deter-
mining the limits of the Yellow and the White races ^
Analogous difficulties recur in the study of the Northern
(Siberian) groups — Samoyeds, Ostyaks, Voguls and other
Ugrians — who present great individual variations, leading
almost without a break from the Mongol to the Lapp, from the
Lapp to the Finn, from Finn to Slav and Teuton. Thus may
be shown a series of observations continuous between the most
typical Mongol, and those aberrant Mongolo-Caucasic groups
which answer to Prichard's " Allophylian races." Thus also is
confirmed by a study of details the above broad generalisation
in which I have endeavoured to determine the relation of the
Finno-Turki peoples to the primary Mongol and Caucasic
divisions.
Feisker's description of the Scythian invasions of Irania*
may be taken as typical of the whole area, and explains the
complexity of the ethnological problems. The
steppes and deserts of Central Asia are an im- invasions.^
passable barrier for the South Asiatics, the Aryans,
but not for the North Asiatic, the Altaian ; for him they are
an open country, providing him with the indispensable winter
^ ].'?,. "Qmy, English Historical Rev., ]\x\^,i%()T.
2 L' Anthropologic, vi. No. 3.
3 T. Peisker, " The Asiatic Background," Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. i.
i9iiiP-3S4-
304 Man : Past and Present [ch.
pastures. On the other hand, for the South Asiatic Aryan
these deserts are an object of terror, and besides he is not
impelled towards them as he has winter pastures near at hand.
It is this difference in the distance of summer and winter pas-
tures that makes the North Asiatic Altaian an ever-wandering
herdsman, and the grazing part of the Indo-European race
cattle-rearers settled in limited districts. Thus, while the native
Iranian must halt before the trackless region of steppes and
deserts and cannot follow the well-mounted robber-nomad
thither, Iran itself is the object of greatest longing to the
nomadic Altaian. Here he can plunder and enslave to his
heart's delight, and if he succeeds in maintaining himself for a
considerable time among the Aryans, he learns the language
of the subjugated people and, by mingling with them, loses his
Mongol characteristics more and more. If the Iranian is now
fortunate enough to shake off the yoke, the dispossessed iranised
Altaian intruder inflicts himself upon other lands. So it was
with the Scythians. Leaving their families behind in the South
Russian steppes, the Scythia"ns invaded Media c. B.C. 630, and
advanced into Mesopotamia as far as Egypt,
cytnians. j^ Media they took Median wives and learned the
Median language. After being driven out by Cyaxares, on
their return, some 28 years later, they met with a new genera-
tion, the offspring of the wives and daughters whom they had
left behind, and slaves of an alien race. A hundred and fifty
years later Hippocrates remarked their yellowish red com-
plexion, corpulence, smooth skins, and their consequent eunuch-
like appearance — all typically Mongol characteristics. Hippo-
crates was the most celebrated physician and natural philosopher
of the ancient world. His evidence is unshakeable and cannot
be invalidated by the Aryan speech of the Scythians. Their
Mongol type was innate in them, whereas their Iranian speech
was acquired and is no refutation of Hippocrates' testimony.
On the later Greek vases from South Russian excavations they
already appear strongly demongolised and the Altaian is only
suggested by their hair, which is ' as stiff as a horse's mane —
hence Aristotle's epithet eu^urpixes — the characteristic that sur-
vives longest among all Ural- Altaian hybrid peoples.
E. H. Parker unfortunately lent the weight of his authority
to the statement that the word "Tiirko" [Turki] "goes no "
farther back than the fifth century of our era," and that "so far
as recorded history is concerned the name of Turk dates from
i-"^] The Northern Mongols 305
this time\" But Turki tribes bearing this national name had
penetrated into East Europe hundreds of years before that time,
and were already seated on the Tanais (Don) about the new
era. They are mentioned by name both by Pomponius Mela'
and by Pliny", and to the same connection belonged, beyond
all doubt, the warlike Parthians, who 300 years
earlier were already seated on the confines of I ran J^^Jmans""*
and Turan, routed the legions of Crassus and
Antony, and for five centuries (250 B.C.-229 a.d.) usurped
the throne of the " King of Kings/' holding sway from the
Euphrates to the Ganges, and from the Caspian to the Indian
Ocean. Direct descendants of the Parthians are the fierce
Turkoman nomads, who for ages terrorised over all the settled
populations encircling the Aralo-Caspian depression. Their
power has at last been broken by the Russians, but they are
still politically dominant in Persia*. They have thus been for
many ages in the closest contact with Caucasic Iranians, with
the result that the present Turkoman type is shown by
J. L. Yavorsky's observations to be extremely variable".
Both the Parthians and the Massagetae have been identified
with the Yud-chi, who figured so largely in the annals of the
Han dynasties, and are above mentioned as
having been driven west to Sungaria by the YiSchF**^ *"**
Hiung-nu after the erection of the Great Wall.
It has been said that, could we follow the peregrinations of the
Yu6-chi bands from their early seats at the foot of the Kinghan
mountains to their disappearance amid the snowsof the Western
Himalayas, we should hold the key to the solution of the
1 Academy, Dec. 21, 1895, p. 548.
- "Budini Gelonion urbem ligneam habitant; juxta Thyssagetae Turcaeque
vastas silvas occupant, alunturque venando" (l. 19, p. 27 of Leipzig' ed. 1880).
^ " Dein Tanain amnem gemino ore influentem incolunt Sarmatae.-.Tindari,
Thussagetae, Tyrcae, usque ad solitudines saltuosis convallibus asperas, etc." (Bk.
VIII. 7, Vol. I. p. 234 of Berlin ed. 1886). The variants Turcae and Tyrcae are
noteworthy, as indicating the same vacillating sound of the root vowel {ti and
y=u) tltat still persists.
* Not only was the usurper Nadir Shah a Turkoman of the Afshir tribe but
the present reigning family belongs to the rival clan of Qajar Turkomans long
settled in Khorasan, the home of their Parthian forefathers.
* Of 59 Turkomans the hair was generally a dark brown ; the eyes brown (45)
and light grey (14) ; face orthognatl^ous (52) and prognathous (7) ; eyes mostly not
obhque; cephalic index 68-69 to 8176, mean 75'64; dolicho 28, sub-dolicho 18,
9 mejati, 4 sub-brachy. Five skulls from an old graveyard at Samarkand were
also very heterogeneous, cephalic index ranging from 7772 to 94'93. This last,
unless deformed, exceeds in brachycephaly "le c61^bre crS.ne d'iin Slave vende
qu'on cite dans les manuels d'anthropologie " (Th. Volkov, V Anthropologic, 1897,
PP- 355-7)-
K. 20
3o6 Man: Past and Present [ch.
obscure problems associated with the migrations of the Mon-
golo-Turki hordes since the torrent of invasion was diverted
westwards by Shih Hwang Ti's mighty barrier. One point,
however, seems clear enough, that the Yu^-chi were a different
people both from the Parthians who had already occupied
Hyrcania (Khorasan) at least in the third century B.C., if not
earlier, and from the Massagetac. For the latter were seated
on the Yaxartes (Sir-darya) in the time of Cyrus (sixth century
B.C.), whereas the Yu^-chi still dwelt east of Lake Lob (Tarim
basin) in the third century. After their defeat by the Hiung-nu
and the Usuns (201 and 165 b.c), they withdrew to Sogdiana
(Transoxiana), reduced the Ta-Hiaoi Baktria, and in 126 B.C.
Indo-Scythians Overthrew the Graeco-Baktrian kingdom, which
and Graeco- had been founded after the death of Alexander to-
Baktnans. wards the close of the fourth century. But in the
Kabul valley, south of the Hindu-Kush, the Greeks still held
their ground for over 100 years, until Kadphises L, king of the
Kushans — a branch of the Yu^-chi — after uniting the whole
nation in a single Indo-Scythian sta,te, extended his conquests
to Kabul and succeeded Hermaeus, last of the Greek dynasty
(40-20 B.C..''). Kadphises' son Kadaphes (10 a.d.) added to
his empire a great part of North India, where his successors
of the Yu6-chi dynasty reigned from the middle of the first to
the end of the fourth century a.d. Here they^are supposed by
some authorities to be still represented by the
SS Origins!^ /^^-^ ^"^ R<^jputs, and even Prichard allows that
the supposition "does not appear altogether pre-
posterous," although " the physical characters of the Jats are
very different from those attributed to the Yuetschi [Yu^-chi]
and the kindred tribes [Suns, Kushans, etc.] by the writers
cited by Klaproth and Abel Remusat, who say that they are
of sanguine complexion with blue eyes\"
We now know that these characters present little difficulty
when the composite origin of the Turki people is borne in mind.
On the other hand it is interesting to note that the above-
mentioned Ta-Hia have by some been identified with the warlike
Scythian Dahae^ and these with the Dehiya or Dh^, one of
' Quoted by W. Crooke, who points out that "the opinion of the best Indian
authorities seems to be gradually turning to the belief that the connection between
Jdts and Rijputs is more intimate than was formerly supposed" {The Tribes and
Castes of the North- Western Provinces and Oudh, Calcutta, 1896, ill. p. 27).
2 Virgil's "indomiti Dahae" {Aen. Vlll. 728): possibly the Dehavites (Dievi) of
Ezra iv. 9.
ix] The Northern Mongols 307
the great divisions of the Indian Jats. But if Rawlinson' is right,
the term Dahae was not racial but social, meaning rustici, — the
peasantry as opposed to the nomads ; hence the Dahae are
heard of everywhere throughout Irania, just as Dehwar^ is still
the common designation of the Tajik (Persian) peasantry in
Afghanistan and Baluchistan. This is also the view taken by
de Ujfalvy, who identifies the Ta-Hia, not with the Scythian
Dahae, or with any other particular tribe, but with the peaceful
rural population of Baktriana^ whose reduction by the Yud-chi,
possibly Strabo's Tokhari, was followed by the overthrow of
the Graeco-Baktrians. The solution of the puzzling Yu^-chi-
Jat problem would therefore seem to be that the Dehiya and
other Jdts, always an agricultural people, are descended from
the old Iranian peasantry of Baktriana, some of whom followed
the fortunes of their Greek rulers into Kabul valley, while others
accompanied the conquering Yue-chi founders of the Indo-
Scythian empire into northern India.
Then followed the overthrow of the Yue-chi themselves by
the Yd-tha ( Ye-tha-i-li-to) of the Chinese records, that is, the
Ephthalites, or so-called "White Huns," of the Greek and Arab
writers, who about 425 a.d. overran Transoxiana,
and soon afterwards penetrated through the moun- Huns'.'^'*^
tain passes into the Kabul and Indus valleys.
Although confused by some contemporary writers (Zosimus,
Am. Marcellinus) with Attila's Huns, M. Drouin has made it
clear that the Y^-tha were not Huns (Mongols) at all, but, like
the Yu^-chi, a Turki people, whoivere driven westwards about
the same time as the Hiung-nu by the Yuan-yuans (see above).
Of Hun they had little but the name, and the more accurate
Procopius was aware that they differed entirely from "the
Huns known to us, not being nomads, but settled for a long
time in a fertile region." He speaks also of their white colour
and regular features, and their sedentary life* as in the Chinese
accounts, where they are described as warlike conquerors of
twenty kingdoms, as far as that of the A-si (Arsacides, Par-
thians), and in their customs resembling the Tu-Kiu (Turks),
being in fact "of the same race." On the ruins of the Indo-
Scythian (Yud-chi) empire, the White Huns ruled in India
' Herodotus, Vol. I. p. 413.
^ From Pers. »J, dih, dah, village (Parsi dahi).
^ Les Aryens, etc., p. 68 sq.
* De Bello Persico, passim.
3o8 Man : Past and Present [ch.
and the surrounding lands from 425 to the middle of the sixth
century. A little later came the Arabs, who in 706 captured
Samarkand, and under the Abassides were supreme in Central
Asia till scattered to the winds by the Oghuz Turki hordes.
From all this it has been suggested that — while the Baktrian
peasants entered India as settlers, and are now represented by
the agricultural Jats — the Yu^-chi and Yd-tha, both of fair
Turki stock, came as conquerors, and are now represented by
the Rajputs, " Sons of Kings," the warrior and land-owning
race of northern India. It is significant that these Thdkur,
"feudal lords," mostly trace their genealogies from about the be-
ginning of the seventh century, as if they had become Hinduized
soon after the fall of the foreign Ye-tha dynasty, while on the
other hand " the country legends abound with instances of the
conflict between the Rajput and the Brihman in prehistoric
times'." This supports the conjecture that the Rdjputs entered
India, not as "Aryans" of the Kshatriya or military caste, as
is commonly assumed, but as aliens (Turki), the avowed foes
of the true Aryans, that is, the BrAhman or theocratic (priestly)
caste. Thus also is explained the intimate association of the
Rajputs and the Jats from the first — the Rdjputs being the
Turki leaders of the invasions ; and the Jdts their peaceful
Baktrian subjects following in their wake.
The theory that the haughty Rijputs are of unsullied
" Aryan blood " is scarcely any longer held even by the Rajputs
themselves ; they are undoubtedly of mixed origin. But the
definite physical type which 4^- H. Risley^ describes as charac-
teristic of Rajputs and Jits in the Kashmir Valley, Punjab
and Rajputana, shows them to be wavy-haired dark-skinned
dolichocephals, linked rather with the " Caucasic " than the
" Mongolian " division.
Nearly related to the White Huns were the Uigurs, the
Kao-che of the Chinese annals, who may claim to be the first
_. ,,. Turki nation that founded a relatively civilised
The Uigurs. „ • /-> i \ ■ n r i ^ ■.
btate m Central Asia. Before the general com-
motion caused by the westward pressure of the Hiung-nu, they
appear to have dwelt in eastern Turkestan (Kashgaria) between
the Usuns and the Sacae, and here they had already made
considerable progress under Buddhist influences about the
fourth or fifth century of the new era. Later, the Buddhist
^ Crooke, op. cit. IV. p. 221.
^ The Tribes and Castes of Bengal, 1892; The People of India, 1908.
ix] The Northern Mongols 309
missionaries from Tibet were replaced by Christian (Nestorian)
evangelists from western Asia, who in the seventh century
reduced the Uigur language to written form, adapting for the
purpose the Syriac alphabet, which was afterwards borrowed
by the Mongols and the Manchus.
This Syriac script — which, as shown by the authentic in-
scription of Si-ngan-fu, was introduced into China in 635 a.d.
— is not to be confused with that of the Orkhon inscriptions'
dating from 732 a.d., and bearing a certain resemblance to
some of. the Runic characters, as also to the Korean, at least in
form, but never in sound. Yet although differing
from the Uiguric, Prof. Thomsen, who has sue- Scr?ptions"
cessfully deciphered the Orkhon text, thinks that
this script may also be derived, at least indirectly through some
of the Iranian varieties, from the same Aramean (Syriac) form
of the Semitic alphabet that gave birth to the Uiguric^
It is more important to note that all the non-Chinese in-
scriptions are in the Turki language, while the Chinese text
refers by name to the father, the grandfather, and the great-
grandfather of the reigning Khan Bilga, which takes us back
nearly to the time when Sinjibu (Dizabul), Great Khan of the
Altai Turks, was visited by the Byzantine envoy, Zimarchus,
in 569 A.D. In the still extant report of this embassy^ the Turks
(TovpKoi) are mentioned by name, and are described as nomads
who dwelt in tents mounted on wagons, burnt the dead, and
raised to their memory monuments; statues, and cairns with
as many stones as the foes slain by the deceased in battle. 1 1
is also stated that they had a peculiar writing system, which
must have been that of these Orkhon inscriptions, the Uiguric
having apparently been introduced somewhat later.
1 Discovered in 1889 by N. M. Yadrintseff in the Orkhon valley, which drains
to the Selenga affluent of Lake Baikal. The inscriptions, one in Chinese and
three in Turki, cover the four sides of a monument erected by a Chinese emperor
to the memory of Kyul-teghin, brother of the then reigning Turki Khan Bilga
(Mogilan). In the same historical district, where stand the ruins of Karakoram —
long the centre of Turki and later of Mongol power^ — other inscribed monuments
have also been found, all apparently in the same Turki language and sctipt, but
quite distinct from the glyptic rock carvings of the Upper Yenisei river, Siberia.
The chief workers in this field were the Finnish archaeologists, J. R. Aspelin,
A. Snellman and Axel O. Heikel, the results of whose labours are collected in the
Inscriptions de I'Jdnissdi recueillies et publUes par la SocMi Finlandaise d'Archio-
logie, Helsingfors, 1889; and Inscriptions de lOrkhon, etc., Helsingfors, 1892.
'^ " La source d'ou est tir6e I'origine de I'alphabet turc, sinon imm6diatement,
du moins par interm^diaire, c'est la forme de I'alphabet s^mitique qu'on appelle
aramdenne" {Inscriptions de V Orkhon dichiffries, Helsingfors, 1894).
3 See Klaproth, Tableau Historique de I'Asie, p. 116 sq.
3IO Man: Past and Present [ch.
Originally the Uigurs comprised nineteen clans, which at
a remote period already formed two great sections : — the On-
Uigur ("Ten Uigurs") in the south, and the Toghuz-Uigur
("Nine Uigurs") in the north. The former had penetrated
westwards to the Aral Sea' as early as the second century a.d.,
and many of them undoubtedly took part in Attila's invasion
of Europe.
Later, all these Western Uigurs, mentioned amongst the
hordes that harassed the Eastern Empire in the fifth and sixth
centuries, in association especially with the Turki Avars, dis-
appear from history, being merged in the Ugrian and other
Finnish peoples of the Volga basin. The Toghuz section also,
after throwing off the yoke of the Mongol or Tungus Geugen
(Jeu-Jen) in the fifth century, were for a time sub-
Turki Dynasty merged in the vast empire of the Altai Turks,
founded in 552 byTumenof the House of Assena
(A-shi-na), who was the first to assume the title of Kha-Khan,
"Great Khan," and whose dynasty ruled over the united Turki
and Mongol peoples from the Pacific to the Caspian, and from
the Frozen Ocean to the confines of China and Tibet. Both the
above-mentioned Sinjibu, who received the Byzantine envoy,
and the Bilga Khan of the Orkhon stele, belonged to this
dynasty, which was replaced in 774 by Pei-lo (Huei-hu), chief
of the Toghuz- Uigurs. This is how we are to understand the
statement that all the Turki peoples who during the somewhat
unstable rule of the Assena dynasty from 552 to ']YA had
undergone many vicissitudes, and about 580 were even broken
into two great sections (Eastern Turks of the Karakoram region
and Western Turks of the Tarim basin), were again united
in one vast political system under the Toghuz-
Uifur'tempire. Uigurs. These are henceforth known in history
simply as Uigurs, the On branch having, as stated,
long disappeared in the West. The centre of their power seems
to have oscillated between Karakoram and Turfan in Eastern
Turkestan, the extensive ruins of which have been explored by
D. A? Klements, Sven Hedin and M. A. Stein. Their vast
dominions were gradually dismembered, first by the Hakas^
or Ki-li-Kiss4, precursors of the present Kirghiz, who overran
the eastern (Orkhon) districts about 840, and then by the
Muhammadans of Mawar-en-Nahar (Transoxiana), who over-
' They are the Onoi, the "Tens," who at this time dwelt beyond the Scythians
of the Caspian Sea (Dionysius Periegetes).
ix] The Northern Mongols 311
threw the " Lion Kings," as the Uigur Khans of Turfan were
called, and set up several petty Mussulman states in Eastern
Turkestan. Later they fell under the yoke of the Kara^Khitais,
and were amongst the first to join the devastating hordes of
Jenghiz-Khan; their name, which henceforth vanishes from his-
tory', has been popularly recognised under the form of "Ogres,"
in fable and nursery tales, but the derivation lacks historical
foundation.
At present the heterogeneous populations of the Tarim
basin (Kashgaria, Eastern Turkestan), where the various ele-
ments have been intermingled, offer a striking contrast to those
of the Hi valley (Sungaria), where one invading horde has
succeeded and been superimposed on another. Hence the com-
plexity of the Kashgarian type, in which the original " horse-
like face " everywhere crops out, absorbing the later Mongolo-
Turki arrivals. But in Sungaria the Kalmuk, Chinese, Dungan,
Taranchi, and Kirghiz groups are all still sharply distinguished
and perceptible at a glance. -' Amongst the Kashgarians — a
term as vague ethnically as ' Aryan ' — -Richthofen has deter-
mined the successive presence of the Su, Yu^-chi, and Usun
hordes, as described in the early Chinese chronicles^"
The recent explorations of M. A. Stein have throw;n some,
light on the ethnology of this region, and a preliminary survey
of results was prepared and published by T. A. Joyce. He
concludes that the original inhabitants were of Alpine type,
with, in the west, traces of the I ndo- Afghan, and that the
Mongolian has had very little influence upon the popula-
tion'.
In close proximity to the Toghuz-Uigurs dwelt the Ogkuz
{Ghuz, Us), for whom eponymous heroes have been provided
in the legendary records of the Eastern Turks, although all
these terms would appear to be merely shortened forms of
Toghuz*. But whether true Uigurs, or a distinct branch of
1 It still persists, however, as a tribal designation both amongst the Kirghiz
and Uzbegs, and in 1885 Potanin visited the Yegurs of the Edzin-gol valley in
south-east Mongolia, said to be the last surviving representatives of the Uigur
nation (H. Schott, "Zur Uigurenfrage," in Abhandl. d. k. Akad. d. Wiss., Berlin,
1873, pp. 101-21).
''■ Ch. de Ujfalvy, Les Aryens au Nord et au Sud de PHindou-Kouch, p. 28.
3 " Notes on the Physical Anthropology of Chinese Turkestan and the Pamirs,''
Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLll. 1912.
* '* The Uzi of the Greeks are the Gozz [Ghuz] of the Orientals. Thej; appear
on the Danube and the Volga, in Armenia, Syria, and ChoraSan, and their name
seems to have been extended to the whole Turkoman [Turki] race " [by the Arab
writers]; Gibbon, Ch. lvii. .j
312 Man: Past and Present [ch.
the Turki people, the Ghuz, as they are commonly called by
TheOghuz ^^ Arab writers, began their westward migra-
Turks and their tioHs about the year 780. After occupying Trans-
Migrations, oxiana, where they are now represented by the
Uzbegs^ of Bokhara and surrounding lands, they gradually
spread as conquerors over all the northern parts of Irania, Asia
Minor, Syria, the Russian and Caucasian steppes, Ukrainia,
Dacia, and the Balkan Peninsula. In most of these lands they
formed fresh ethnical combinations both with the Caucasic
aborigines, and with many kindred Turki as well as Mongol
peoples, some of whom were settled in these regions since
neolithic times, while others had either accompanied Attila's
expeditions, or followed in his wake (Pechenegs, Komans,
Alans, Kipchaks, Kara-Kalpaks), or else arrived later in com-
pany with Jenghiz-Khan and his successors (Kazan and Nogai
" Tatars "=).
In Russia, Rumania (Dacia), and most of the Balkan Penin-
sula these Mongolo-Turki blends have been again submerged
by the dominant Slav and Rumanian peoples (Great and Little
Russians, Servo-Croatians, Montenegrini, Moldavians, and
Walachians). But in south-western Asia they still constitute
perhaps the majority of the population between the Indus and
Constantinople, in many places forming numerous compact
communities, in which the Mongolo-Turki physical and mental
characters are conspicuous. Such, besides the already mentioned
Turkomans of Parthian lineage, are all the nomad and many
of the settled inhabitants of Khiva, Ferghana, Karategin, Bok-
hara, generally comprised under the name of Uzbegs and
" Sartes." Such also are the Turki peoples of Afghan Tur-
kestan, and of the neighbouring uplands (Hazaras and Aimaks '
who claim Mongol descent, though now of Persian speech); the
Aderbaijani and many other more scattered groups in Persia ;
the Nogai and Kumuk tribes of Caucasia, and especially most
of the nomad and settled agricultural populations of Asia Minor.
The Anatolian peasantry form, in fact, the most numerous and
compact division of the Turki family still surviving in any part
of their vast domain between the Bosporus and the Lena.
' Who take their name from a mythical Uz-beg, " Prince Uz" {beg in Turki = a
chief, or hereditary ruler).
2 Both of these take their name, not from mythical but from historical chiefs : —
Kazan Khan of the- Volga, "the rival of Cyrus and Alexander," who was however
of the house of Jenghiz, consequently not a Turk, like most of his subjects, but a
true Mongol {ob. 1304) ; and Noga, the ally and champion of Michael Palaeologus
ix] The Northern Mongols 313
Out of this prolific Oghuz stock arose many renowned chiefs,
founders of vast but somewhat unstable empires, such as those
of the Gasnevides, who ruled from Persia to the Indus ; the
Seljuks, who first wrested the Asiatic provinces
from Byzantium ; the Osmanli, so named from I^JSr''
Othman, the Arabised form of Athman, who pre-
pared the way for Orkhan (1326-60), true builder of the
Ottoman power, which has alone survived the shipwreck of
all the historical Turki states. The vicissitudes of these
monarchies, looked on perhaps with too kindly an eye by
Gibbon, belong to the domain of history, and it will suffice here
to state that from the ethnical standpoint the chief interest
centres in that of the Seljukides, covering the period from about
the middle of the eleventh to the middle of the thirteenth century.
It was under Togrul-beg of this dynasty (1038-63) that " the
whole body of the Turkish nation embraced with fervour and
sincerity the religion of Mahomet'." A little later began the
permanent Turki occupation of Asia Minor, where, after the
conquest of Armenia (1065-68) and the overthrow of the By-
zantine emperor Romanus Diogenes (1071), numerous military
settlements, followed by nomad Turkoman encampments, were
established by the great Seljuk rulers. Alp Arslan and Malek
Shah (1063-92), at all the strategical points. These first
arrivals were joined later by others fleeing before the Mongol
hosts led by Jenghiz-Khan's successors down to the time of
Timur-beg. But the Christians (Greeks and earlier aborigines)
were not exterminated, and we read that, while great numbers
apostatised, " many thousand children were marked by the
knife of circumcision ; and many thousand captives were
devoted to the service or the pleasures of their masters " {ib.).
In other words, the already mixed Turki intruders were yet
more modified by further interminglings with the earlier in-
habitants of Asia Minor. Those who, following the fortunes
of the Othman dynasty, crossed the Bosporus and settled in
Rumelia and some other parts of the Balkan Peninsula, now
prefer to call themselves Osmanli, even repudiating the national
name " Turk " still retained with pride by the ruder peasant
against the Mongols marching under the terrible Holagu almost to the shores of
the Bosporus.
1 Gibbon, Chap. LVii. By the "Turkish nation" is here to be understood the
western section only. The Turks of Miwar-en-Nahar and Kashgaria (Eastern
Turkestan) had been brought under the influences of Islam by the first Arab
invaders from Persia two centuries earlier.
314 Man: Past and Present [ch.
classes of Asia Minor. The latter are often spoken of as
".Seljuk Turks," as if there were some racial difference between
them and the European Osmanli, and for the distinction there
is some foundation. As pointed out by Arminius Vambery',
the Osmanli have been influenced and modified by their closer
association with the Christian populations of the Balkan lands,
while in Anatolia the Seljuks have been able better to preserve
the national type and temperament. The true Turki spirit
("das Ttirkentum ") survives especially in the provinces of
Lykaonia and Kappadokia, where the few surviving natives
were not only Islamised but ethnically fused, whereas in Europe
most of them (Bosnians, Albanians) were only Islamised, and
here the Turki element has always been slight.
At present the original Turki type and temperament are
perhaps best preserved amongst the remote Yakuts of the Lena,
and the Kirghiz groups (^Kirghiz Kazaks and
Kara Kirghiz) of the West Siberian steppe and
the Pamir uplands. The Turk! connection of the Yakut;s, about
which some unnecessary doubts had been raised, has been set
at rest by V. A. Sierochevsky^ who, however, describes them
as now a very mixed people, owing to alliances with the Tun-
guses and Russians. They are of short stature, averaging
scarcely 5 ft. 4 in., and this observer thought their dark but not
brilliant black eyes, deeply sunk in narrow orbits, gave them
more of a Red Indian than of a Mongol cast. Theiy are almost
the only progressive aboriginal people in Siberia, although
numbering not more than 200,000 souls, concentrated chiefly
along the river banks on the plateau between the Lena and the
Aldan.
In the Yakuts we have an extreme instance of the capacity
of man to adapt himself to the milieu. They not merely exist,
but thrive and display a considerable degree of energy and
enterprise in the coldest region on the globe. Within the
isothermal of —72" Fahr., Verkhoyansk, in the heart of their
territory, is alone included, for the period from November to
February, and in this temperature, at which the quicksilver
freezes, the Yakut children may be seen gambolling naked in
the snow. In midwinter R. Kennan met some of these " men
' "Die Stellung der Tiirken in Europa," in Geogr. Zeitschrift, Leipzig, 1897,
Part 5, p. 250 sq.
^ "Ethnographic Researches," edited by N. E. Vasilofsky for the Imperial
Geogr. Soc. 1896, quoted in Nature., Dec. 3, 1896, p. 97.
ix] The Northern Mongols 315
of iron," as Wrangel calls them, airily arrayed in nothing but
a shirt and a sheepskin, lounging about as if in the enjoyment
of the balmy zephyrs of some genial sub-tropical zone.
Although nearly all are Orthodox Christians, or at least
baptized as such, they are mere Shamanists at heart, still con-
juring the powers of nature, but offering no worship to a supreme
deity, of whom they have a vague notion, though he is too far
off to hear, or too good to need their supplications. The world
of good and evil spirits, however, has been enriched by accessions
from the Russian calendar and pandemonium. Thanks to their
commercial spirit, the Yakut language, a very pure Turki idiom,
is even more widespread than the race, having become a general
medium of intercourse for Tungus, Russian, Mongol and other
traders throughout East Siberia, from Irkutsk to the Sea of
Okhotsk, and from the Chinese frontier to the Arctic Ocean'.
To some extent W. Radloff is right in describing the great
Kirghiz Turki family as "of all Turks most nearly allied to the
Mongols in their physical characters, and by their
family names such as Kyptshak[Kipchak],Argyn, ^ '""g iz.
Naiman, giving evidence of Mongolian descent, or at least of
intermixture with Mongols^" But we have already been warned
against the danger of attaching too much importance to these
tribal designations, many of which seem, after acquiring renown
on the battle-field, to have passed readily from one ethnic group
to another. There are certain Hindu- Kush and Afghan tribes
who think themselves Greeks or Arabs, because of the supposed
descent of their chiefs from Alexander the Great or the Prophet's
family, and genealogical trees spring up like the conjurer's
mango plant in support of such illustrious lineage. The Cha-
gatai (Jagatai) tribes, of Turki stock and speech, take their
name from a full-blood Mongol, Chagatai, second son of
Jenghiz-Khan, to whom fell Eastern Turkestan in the partition
of the empire.
In the same way many Uzbeg and Kirghiz Turki tribes
are named from famous Mongol chiefs, although no one will
deny a strain of true Mongol blood in all these heterogeneous
groups. This is evident enough from the square and somewhat
flat Mongol features, prominent cheek-bones, oblique eyes,
large mouth, feet and hands, yellowish brown complexion, un-
gainly obese figures and short stature, all of which are charac-
1 A. Erman, Reise urn die Erde, 1835, Vol. ill. p. 51.
^ Quoted by Peschel, Races of Man, p. 383.
3i6 Man: Past and Present [ch.
teristic of both sections, the Kara-Kirghiz highlanders, arid the
Kazaks of the lowlands. Some ethnologists regard these
Kirghiz groups, not as a distinct branch of the Mongolo-Turki
race, but rather as a confederation of several nomad tribes
stretching from the Gobi to the Lower Volga, and mingled
together by Jenghiz-Khan and his successors'.
The true national name is Kazdk, " Riders," and as they
were originally for the most part mounted marauders, or free
lances ofthe steppe, the term came to be gradually
Kossac^ applied to all nomad and other horsemen engaged
in predatory warfare. It thus at an early date
reached the South Russian steppe, where it was adopted in
the form of Kossack by the Russians themselves. It should
be noted that the compound term Kirghiz-Kazak, introduced
by the Russians to distinguish these nomads from their own
Cossacks, is really a misnomer. The word
Kirghiz. ' " Kirghiz," whatever its origin, is never used by
the Kazaks in reference to themselves, but only
to their near relations, the Kirghiz, or Kara- Kirghiz', of the
uplands. >
These highlanders, who roam "the Tian-Shan and Pamir
valleys, form two sections : — On, " Right," or East, and Sot,
" Left," or West. They are the Dz'ko Kamennyi, that is, "Wild
Rock People," of the Russians, whence the expression " Block
Kirghiz" still found in some English books of travel. But
they call themselves simply Kirghiz, claiming descent from an
original tribe of that name, itself sprung from a legendary
Kirghiz-beg, from whom are also descended the Chiliks, Kitars
and others, all now reunited with the Ons and the Sols.
The Kazaks also are grouped in long-established and still
jealously maintained sections — the Great, Middle, Little, and
Inner Horde — whose joint domain extends from Lake Balk-
ash round the north side of the Caspian down to the Lower
Volgal All accepted the teachings of Islam many centuries
ago, but their Muhanimadanism^ is of a somewhat negative"
' M. Balkashin in Izvestia Russ. Geogr. Soc, April, 1883.
^ Aara! = " Black," with reference to the colour of their round felt tents.
* On the obscure relations of these Hordes to the Kara- Kirghiz and prehistoric
Usuns some light has been thrown by the investigations of N. A. Aristov, a
summary of whose conclusions is given by A. Ivanovski in Centralblatt fiir Anthro-
pologie, etc., 1896, p. 47.
* Althqugh officially returned as Muhammadans of the Sunni sect, Levchine
tells as that it is hard to say whether they are Moslem, Pagan (Shamanists), or
Manichean, this last because they believe God has made good angels called
ix] The Northern Mongols 317
character, without mosques, moUahs, or fanaticism, and in
practice not greatly to be distinguished from the old Siberian
Shamanism. Kumiss, fermented mare's milk, their universal
drink, as amongst the ancient Scythians, plays a large part in
the life of these hospitable steppe nomads.
One of the lasting results of Gastrin's labours has been to
place beyond reasonable doubt the Altai origin of the Finnish
peoples'. Their cradle may now be localised with
some confidence about the head waters of the
Yenisei, in proximity to that of their Turki kinsmen. Here
is the seat of the Soyotes and of the closely allied Koibals,
Kamassintzi, Matores, Karagasses and others, who occupy a
considerable territory along both slopes of the Sayan range,
and may be regarded as the primitive stock of the widely dif-
fused Finnish race. Some of these groups have intermingled
with the neighbouring Turki peoples, and even speak Turki
dialects. But the original Finnish type and speech are well
represented by the Soyotes, who are here indigenous, and "from
these their... kinsmen, the Samoyeds have spread as breeders
of reindeer to the north of the continent from the White Sea
to the Bay of Chatanga^" Others, following a westerly route
along the foot of the Altai and down the Irtysh to the Urals,
appear to have long occupied both slopes of that range, where
they acquired some degree of culture, and especially that know-
ledge of, and skill in working, the precious and other metals,
for which the " White-eyed Chudes " were famous, and to which
repeated reference is made in the songs of the Kalevala^. As
Mankir and bad angels called Nankir. Two of these spirits sit invisibly on the
shoulders of every person from his birtlj, the good on the right, the bad on the
left, each noting his actions in their respective books, and balancing accounts at
his death. It is interesting to compare these ideas with those of the Uzbeg prince
who explained to Lansdell that at the resurrection, the earth being flat, the dead
grow out of it like _grass ; then God divides the good from the bad, sending these
below and those above. In heaven nobody dies, and every wish is gratified; even
the wicked creditor may seek out his debtor, and in lieu of the money owing may
take over the equivalent in his good deeds, if there be any, and thus be saved
{Through Central Asia, 188/!, p. 438).
' See especially his Reiseberichte u. Briefe aus den Jahren i84j-4g, p. 401 sq.;
and Versuch einer Koibalischen Ji. Karagassischen Sprachlehre, 1858, Vol. i. passim.
But cf. J. Szinnyei, Finnisch-ugrische Sprachwissenschaft, 1910, pp. ig-20.
2 Peschel, Races of Man, ^. 386.
3 In a suggestive paper on this collection of Finnish songs C. U. Clark {Forum,
April, 1898, p. 238 sq.) shows from the primitive character of the mythology, the
frequent allusions to copper or bronze, and the almost utter absence of Christian
ideas and other indications, that these songs must be of great antiquity. " There
seems to be no doubt that some parts date back to at least 3000 years ago, before
the Finns and the Hungarians had become distinct peoples ; for the names of the
3i8 Man: Past and Present [ch.
there are no mines or minerals in Finland itself, it seems obvious
that the legendary heroes of the Finnish national epic must
have dwelt in some metalliferous region, which could only be
the Altai or the Urals, possibly both.
In any case the Urals became a second home and point of
dispersion for the Finnish tribes {Ugrian Finns), whose migra-
tions— some prehistoric, some historic — can be followed thence
down the Pechora and Dvina to the Frozen Ocean', and down
the Kama to the Volga. From this artery, where permanent
settlements were {oxva&dL.{Volga Finns) , some conquering hordes
went south and west {Danubian Finns), while more peaceful
wanderers ascended the great river to Lakes Ladoga and
Onega, and thence to the shores of the Baltic and Lapland
{Baltic and Lake Finns).
Thus were constituted the main branches of the widespread
Finnish family, whose domain formerly extended from the
Former and Katanga beyond the Yenisei to Lapland, and
Present * from the Arctic Ocean to the Altai range, the
Domain. Caspian, and the Volga, w^ith considerable enclaves
in the Danube basin. But throughout their relatively short
historic life the Finnish peoples, despite a characteristic tenacity
and power of resistance, have in many places been encroached
upon, absorbed, or even entirely eliminated, by more aggressive
races, such as the Siberian " Tatars " in their Altai cradleland,
the Turki Kirghiz and Bashkirs in the West Siberian steppes
and the Urals, the Russians in the Volga and Lake districts,
the Germans and Lithuanians in the Baltic Provinces (Kurland,
Livonia, Esthonia), the Rumanians, Slavs, and others in the
Danube regions, where the Ugrian Bulgars and Magyars have
been almost entirely assimilated in type (and the former also
in speech) to the surrounding European populations.
Few anthropologists now attach much importance to the
views not yet quite obsolete regarding a former extension of
divinities, many of the customs, and even particular incantations and bits of super-
stitions mentioned in the Kalevala are curiously duplicated in ancient Hungarian
writings."
1 When Ohthere made his famous voyage round North Cape to the Cwen Sea
(White Sea) all this Arctic seaboard was inhabited, not by Samoyeds, as at present,
but by true Finns, whom King, Alfred calls Beortnas, i.e. the Biarmians of the
Norsemen, and the Permiaki {Permians) of the Russians {Orosms, I. 13). In
medieval times the whole region between the White Sea and the Urals was often
called Permia ; but since the withdrawal southwards of the Zirynians and other
Permian Finns this Arctic region has been thinly occupied by Samoyed tribes
spreading slowly westward from Siberia to the Pechora and Lower Dvina.
IX j The Northern Mongols 319
the Finnish race over the whole of Europe and the British
Isles. Despite the fact that all the Finns are essentially
round-headed, they were identified first with the La^ ^est-
long-headed cavemen, who retreated north with ward Spread of
the reindeer, as was the favourite hypothesis, and *^ ^•""^•
then with the early neolithic races who were also long-headed.
Elaborate but now forgotten essays were written by learned
philologists to establish a common origin of the Basque and
the Finnic tongues, which have nothing in common, and half the
myths, folklore, and legendary heroes of the western nations
were traced to FinnorUgrian sources.
Now we know better, and both archaeologists and philo-
logists have made it evident that the Finnish peoples are re-
latively quite recent arrivals in Europe, that the men of the
Bronze Age in Finland itself were not Finns but Teutons, and
that at the beginning of the new era all the Finnish tribes still
dwelt east of the Gulf of Finland \
Not only so, but the eastern migrations themselves, as
above roughly outlined, appear to have taken place at a re-
latively late epoch, long after the inhabitants of .^^^ j^^
West Siberia had passed from the New Stone Bronze Ages in
to the Metal Ages. J. R. Aspelin, "founder the Finnish
of Finno-Ugrian archaeology," points out that ^" ^'
the Finno-Ugrian peoples originally occupied a geographical
position between the Indo-Germanic and the Mongolic races,
and that their first Iron Age was most probably a development,
between the Yenisei and the Kama, of the so-called Ural- Altai
Bronze Age, the last echoes of which may be traced westwards
to Finland and North Scandinavia. In the Upper Yenisei
districts iron objects had still the forms of the Bronze Age,
when that ancient civilisation, associated with the name of the
"Chudes," was interrupted by an invasion which introduced
the still persisting Turki Iron Age, expelled the aboriginal
inhabitants, and thus gave rise to the great migrations first of
the Finno-Ugrians, and then of the Turki peoples (Bashkirs,
'^ See A. Hackman, Die Bronzezeit Finnlands, Helsingfors, 1897 ; also
M. Aspelin, O. Montelius, V. Thomsen and others, who have all, on various
grounds, arrived at the same conclusion. Even D. £. D. Europaeus, who has
advanced so many heterodox views on the Finnish cradleland, and on the relations
of the Finnic to the Mongolp-Turki languages, agrees that " vers I'dpoque de la
naissance de J. C, c'est-k-dire bien longtemps avant que ces tribus immigrassent
en Finlande, elles [the western Finns] Staient'dtablies imm^diatement au sud des
lacs d'Ondga et de Ladoga." {Travaux Gdographiques exicuth en Finlande jus-
qu'en 1895, Helsingfors, 1895, p. 141.)
320 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Volga " Tatars " and others) to and across the Urals. It was
here, in the Permian territory between the Irtysh and the Kama,
that the West Siberian (Chudish) Iron Age continued its normal
and unbroken evolution. The objects recovered from the old
graves and kurgans in the present governments of Tver and
laroslav, and especially at Ananyino on the Kama, centre of
this culture, show that here took place the transition from the
Bronze to the Iron Age some 300 years before the new era,
and here was developed a later Iron Age, whose forms are.
characteristic of the northern Finno-Ugrian lands. The whole
region would thus appear to have been first occupied by these
immigrants from Asia after the irruption of the Turki hordes
into Western Siberia during the first Iron Age, at most sOme
500 or 600 years before the Christian era. The Finno-Ugrian
migrations are thus limited to a period of not more than 2600
years from the present time, and this conclusion, based on
archaeological grounds, agrees fairly well with the historical,
linguistic, and ethnical data.
It is especially in this obscure field of research that the
eminent Danish scholar, Vilhelm Thomsen, has rendered in-
estimable services to European ethnology. By the light of his
linguistic studies A. H. Snellman' has elucidated
F^nf ^'^''^ the origins of the Baltic Finns, the Proto-Estho-
nians, the now all but extinct Livonians, and the
quite extinct Kurlanders, from the time when they still dwelt
east and south-east of the Baltic lands, under the influence of
the surrounding Lithuanian and Gothic tribes, till the German
conquest of the Baltic provinces. We learn from Jordanes, to
whom is due the first authentic account of these populations,
that the various Finnish tribes were subject to the Gothic king
Hermanarich, and Thomsen now shows that all the Western
Finns (Esthonians, Livonians, Votes, Vepses, Karelians,
Tavastians, and others of Finland) must in the first centuries
of the new era have lived practically as one people in the ,
closest social union, speaking one language, and following the
same religious, tribal, and political institutions. Earlier than
the Gothic was the Letto- Lithuanian contact, as shown by the
fact that its traces are perceptible in the language of the Volga
Finns, in which German loan-words are absent. From these
investigations it becomes clear that the Finnish domain must
1 Finska Forminnesfdreningens Tidskrift, Journ. Fin. Antiq. Soc. 1896, p.
137 sq.
ix] The Northern Mongols 321
at that time have stretched from the present Esthonia, Livonia,
and Lake Ladoga south to the western Dvina.
The westward movement was connected with the Slav
migrations. When the Slavs south of the Letts moved west,
other Slav tribes must have pushed north, thus Relations to
driving both Letts and Finns west to the Baltic Goths, Letts,
provinces, which had previously been occupied ^nd Slavs,
by the Germans (Goths). Some of the Western Finns must
have found their way about 500 a.d., scarcely earlier, into parts
of this region, where they came into hostile and friendly con-
tact with the Norsemen. These relations would even appear
to be reflected in the Norse mythology, which may be regarded
as in great measure an echo of historic events. The wars of
the Swedish and Danish kings referred to in these oral records
may be interpreted as plundering expeditions rather than per-
manent conquests, while the undoubtedly active intercourse
between the east and west coasts of the Baltic may be explained
on the assumption that, after the withdrawal of the Goths, a
remnant of the Germanic populations remained behind in the
Baltic provinces.
From Nestor's statement that all three of the Varangian
princes settled, not amongst Slavish but amongst Finnish
peoples, it maybe inferred that the Finnish ele-
ment constituted the most important section in orieitis "^^
the newly founded Russian State ; and it may
here be mentioned that the term " Russ" itself has now been
traced to the Finnish word Ruost i^Ruosti), a " Norseman." But
although at first greatly outnumbering the Slavs, the Finnish
peoples soon lost the political ascendancy, and their subsequent
history may be summed up in the expression — ^gradual absorp-
tion in the surrounding Slav populations. This inevitable pro-
cess is still going on amongst all the Volga, Lake and Baltic
Finns, except in Finland and Lapland, where other conditions
obtain \ •
Most Finnish ethnologists agree that however much they
may now diffei* in their physical and mental characters and
usages, Finns and Lapps were all originally one people. Some
' "Les Finnois et leurs congdn^res ont occupe autrefois, sur d'immenses espaces,
les vastes regions fcresti^res de la Russie septentrionale et centrale, et de la Sibdrie
occidentale ; mais plus tard, refoul^s et divisds par d'autres peuples, ils furent
rdduits k des tribus isol6es, dont il ne reste maintenant que des debris 6pars"
{Travaux Gdographiques, p. 132).
K. 21
322 Man: Past and Present [ch.
variant oi Suonta^ enters into the national name of all the Baltic
groups — Suomalaiset, the Finns of Finland, Somelmzed, those
of Esthonia, Samelats (Sabmelad), the Lapps, Samoyad, the
Samoyeds. In Ohthere's time the Norsemen called all the
Lapps " Finnas " (as the Norwegians still do), and that early
Tavastian navigator already noticed that these " Finns "
and Karelian seemed to speak the same language as the
Finns. Beormas, who were true Finnsl Nor do the
present inhabitants of Finland, taken as a whole, differ more
in outward appearance and temperament from their Lapp
neighbours than do the Tavastians and the Karelians, that
is, their western and eastern sections, from each other. The
Tavastians, who call themselves H^melaiset, " Lake People,"
have rather broad, heavy frames, small and oblique blue or
grey eyes, towy hair and white complexion, without the clear
Horid colour of the North Germanic and English peoples. The
temperament is somewhat sluggish, passive and enduring,
morose and vindictive, but honest and trustworthy.
Very different are the tall, slim, active Karelians (Karia-
laiset, " Cowherds," from Kari, " Cow "), with more regular
features, straight grey eyes, brown complexion, and chestnut
hair, like that of the hero of the Kalevala, hanging in ringlets
down the shoulders. Many of the Karelians, and most of the
neighbouring Ingrians about the head of the Gulf of Finland,
as well as the Votes and Vepses of the great lakes, have been
assimilated in speech, religion, and usages to the surrounding
Russian populations. But the more conservative Tavastians
have hitherto tenaciously preserved the national sentiment,
language, and traditions. Despite the pressure of Sweden on
the west, and of Russia on the east, the Finns still stand out
as a distinct European nationality, and continue to cultivate
with success their harmonious and highly poetical language.
Since the twelfth century they have been Christians, converted
to the Catholic faith By "Saint" Eric, King of Sweden, and
later to Lutheranism, again by the Swedes". The national
university, removed in 1827 from Abo to Helsingfors, is a
centre of much scientific and literary work, and here E. Lonnrot,
1 A word of doubtful meaning, commonly but wrongly supposed to mean swamp
or fen, and thus to be the original of the Teutonic Finnas, " Fen People " (see
Thomsen, Einfluss d. ger. Spr. auf die finnisch-lappischen, p. 14).
^ " pa Finnas, him >uhte, and >a Beormas sprsecon neah dn ge'Seode "
(Orosius, I. 14).
2 See my paper on the Finns in Cassell's Storehouse of Information, p, 296.
ix] The Northern Mongols 323
father of Finnish literature, brought out his various editions of
the Kalevala, that of 1849 consisting of some 50,000 strophes'.
A kind of transition from these settled and cultured Finns
to the Lapps of Scandinavia and Russia is formed by the still
almost nomad, or at least restless Kwcens, who
formerly roamed as far as the White Sea, which ^ ''*"^'
in Alfred's time was known as the Cwen See (Kween Sea).
These Kwsens, who still number nearly 300,000, are even called
nomads by J. A. Friis, who tells us that there is a continual
movement of small bands between Finland and Scandinavia.
"The wandering Kwccns pass round the Gulf of Bothnia and
up through Lappmarken to Kittala, where they separate, some
going to Varanger, and others to Alten. They follow the
same route as that which, according to historians, some of the
Norsemen followed in their wanderings from Finland"." The
references of the Sagas are mostly to these primitive Bothnian
Finns, with whom the Norsemen first came in contact, and who
in the sixth and following centuries were still in a rude state
not greatly removed from that of their Ugrian forefathers. As
shown by Almqvist's researches, they lived almost exclusively
by hunting and fishing, had scarcely a rudimentary knowledge
of agriculture, and could prepare neither butter nor cheese from
the milk of their half-wild reindeer herds.
Such were also, and in some measure still are, the kindred
Lapps, who with the allied Yurak Samoyeds of Arctic Russia
are the only true nomads still surviving in Europe. The Lapps,
A. H. Cocks, who travelled amongst all these Samoyeds and
rude aborigines in 1888, describes the Kwsens Permian Finns,
who range north to Lake Enara, as "for the most part of a
very rough class," and found that the Russian Lapps of the
Kola Peninsula, "except as to their clothing and the addition
of coffee and sugar to their food supply, are living now much
the same life as their ancestors probably lived 2000 or more
years ago, a far more primitive life, in fact, than the Reindeer
Lapps [of Scandinavia]. They have not yet begun to use
tobacco, and reading and writing are entirely unknown among
them. Unlike the three other divisions of the race [the Nor-
wegian, Swedish, and Finnish Lapps], they are a very cheerful,
1 The fullest information concerning Finland and its inhabitants is found in the
Atlas de Finlande, with Texte (2 vols.) published by the Soc. Gdog. Finland m. 1910.
2 Laila, Earl of Ducie's English ed., p. 58. The Swedish Bothnia is stated to
be a translation of Kwan, meaning low-lying coastlands ; hence Kainulaiset, as
they call themselves, would mean " Coastlanders."
324 Man : Past and Present [ch.
light-hearted people, and have the curious habit of expressing
their thoughts aloud in extempore sing-song'."
Similar traits have been noticed in the Samoyeds, whom
F. G. Jackson describes as an extremely sociable and hospitable
people, delighting in gossip, and much given to laughter and
merriment^ He gives their mean height as nearly 5 ft. 2 in.,
which is about the same as that of the Lapps (Von Diiben,
5 ft. 2 in., others rather less), while that of the Finns averages
5 ft. 5 in. (Topinard). Although the general Mongol appearance
is much less pronounced in the Lapps than in the Samoyeds,
in some respects — low stature, flat face with peculiar round
outline — the latter reminded Jackson of the Ziryanians, who are
a branch of the Beormas (Permian Finns), though like them
now much mixed with the Russians. The so-called prehistoric
" Lapp Graves," occurring throughout the southern parts of
Scandinavia, are now known from their contents to have be-
longed to the Norse race, who appear to have occupied this
region since the New Stone Age, while the Lapp domain seems
never to have reached very much farther south than Trondhjem.
All these facts, taken especially in connection with the late
arrival of the Finns themselves in Finland, lend support to
the view that the Lapps are a branch, not of
and Migrations ^^ Suomalaiset, but of the Permian Finns, and
reached their present homes, not from Finland,
but from North Russia through the Kanin and Kola Peninsulas,
if not round the shores of the White Sea, at some remote period
prior to the occupation of Finland by its present inhabitants.
This assumption would also explain Ohthere's statement that •
Lapps and Permians seemed to speak nearly the same language.
The resemblance is still close, though I am not competent to
say to which branch of the Finno-Ugrian family Lapp is most
nearly allied.
Of the Mongol physical characters the Lapp still retains
the round low skull (index 83), the prominent cheek-bones,
somewhat flat features, and ungainly figure. The
ReliSoT'"^" ~~ temperament, also, is still perhaps more Asiatic
than European, although since the eighteenth
century they have been Christians — Lutherans in Scandinavia,
Orthodox in Russia. In pagan times Shamanism had nowhere
acquired a greater development than among the Lapps. A great
^ A Boat Journey to Inari, Viking Club, Feb. i, 1895.
^ The Great Frozen Land, 1895, p. 61.
ix] The Northern Mongols 325
feature of the system were the "rune-trees," made of pine or
birch bark, inscribed with figures of gods, men, or animals,
which ^were consulted on all important occasions, and their
mysterious signs interpreted by the Shamans. Even foreign
potentates hearkened to the voice of these renowned magicians,
and in England the expression^ " Lapland witches " became
proverbial, although it appears' that there never were any
witches, but only wizards, in Lapland. Such rites have long
ceased to be practised, although some of the crude ideas of a
material after-life still linger on. Money and other treasures
are often buried or hid away, the owners dying without revealing
the secret, either through forgetfulness, or more probably of
set purpose in the hope of thus making provision for the other
world.
Amongst the kindred Samoyeds, despite their Russian or-
thodoxy, the old pagan beliefs enjoy a still more vigorous ex-
istence. " As long as things go well with him, he is a Christian ;
but should his reindeer die, or other catastrophe happen, he
immediately returns to his old god Nwm or Chaddi....\\.^ con-
ducts his heathen services by night and in secret, and carefully
screens from sight any image of Chaddi\" Jackson noticed
several instances of this compromise between the old and the
new, such as the wooden cross supplemented on the Samoyed
graves by an overturned sledge to convey the dead safely over
the snows of the under-world, and the rings of stones, within
which the human sacrifices were perhaps formerly offered to
propitiate Chaddi ; and although these things have ceased, " it
is only a few years ago that a Samoyad living on Novaia Zemlia
sacrificed a young girP."
Similar beliefs and practices still prevail not only amongst
the Siberian Finns — Ostyaks of the Yenisei and Obi rivers,
Voguls of the Urals — but even amongst the Vbt-
yaks, Mordvinians, Cheremisses and other scat- pj^^^g ° ^*
tered groups still surviving in the Volga basin.
So recently as the year 1896 a number of Votyaks were tried
and convicted fof the murder of a passing mendicant, whom
they had beheaded to appease the wrath of Kiremet, Spirit of
Evil and author of the famine raging at that time in Central
Russia. Besides Kiremet, the Votyaks — who appear to have
migrated from the Urals to their present homes between the
' The Great Frozen Land, p. 84.
'' Cf. M. A. Czaplicka, Aboriginal Siberia, 1914, pp. 162, 289 n.
326 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Kama and the Viatka rivers about 400 a.d., and are mostly
heathens — also worship Inmar, God of Heaven, to whom they
sacrifice animals as well as human beings whenever it can be
safely done. We are assured by Baron de Baye that even the
few who are baptized take part secretly in these unhallowed
rites'.
To the Ugrian branch, rudest and most savage of all the
Finnish peoples, belong these now moribund Volga groups, as
well as the fierce Bulgar and Magyar hordes, if not also their
precursors, the Jazyges and Rhoxolani, who in the second cen-
tury A.D. swarmed into Pannonia from the Russian steppe, and
in company with the Germanic Quadi and Marcomanni twice
(168 and 172) advanced to the walls of Aquileia, and were
twice arrested by the legions of Marcus Aurelius and Verus.
Of the once numerous Jazyges, whom Pliny calls Sarmates,
there were several branches — Maeotae, Metanastae, Basilii
("Royal") — who were first reduced by the Goths spreading
from the Baltic to the Euxine and Lower Danube, and then
overwhelmed with the Dacians, Getae, Basfarnae, and a hun-
dred other ancient peoples in the great deluge of the Hunnish
invasion.
From the same South Russian steppe — the plains watered
by the Lower Don and Dnieper — came the Bulgars, first in
TheBuigars association with the Huns, from whom they are
—Origins and scarcely distinguished by the early Byzantine
Migrations. writers,. and then as a separate people, who, after
throwing off the yoke of the Avars (635 a.d.), withdrew before
the pressure of the Khazars westwards to the Lower Danube
(678). But their records go much farther back than these dates,
and while philologists and archaeologists are able to trace their
wanderings step by step north to the Middle Volga and the
Ural Mountains, authentic Armenian documents carry their
history back to the second century b.c. Under the Arsacides
numerous bands of Bulgars, driven from their homes about
the Kama confluence by civil strife, settled on the banks of
the Aras, and since that time (150-1 14 B.C.) the Bulgars were
known to the Armenians as a great nation dwelling away to
the north far beyond the Caucasus.
Originally the name, which afterwards acquired such an
^ Notes sur les Voiiaks payens des Gouvernements de Kazan, et Viatka,"? axis,
1897. They are still numerous, especially in Viatka, where they numbered 240,000
in 1897.
ix] The Northern Mongols 327
odious notoriety amongst the European peoples, may have
been more geographical than ethnical, implying not so much
a particular nation as all the inhabitants of the Btdga (Volga)
between the Kama and the Caspian. But at that time this
section of the great river seems to have been mainly held by
more or less homogeneous branches of the Finno-Ugrian family,
and palethnologists have now shown that to this connection
beyond all question belonged in physical appearance, speech,
and usages those bands known as Bulgars, who formed per-
manent settlements in Moesia south of the Lower Danube to-
wards the close of the seventh century'. Here "these bold and
dexterous archers, who drank the milk and feasted on the flesh
of their fleet and indefatigable horses ; whose flocks and herds
followed, or rather guided, the motions of their roving camps ;
to whose inroads nO country was remote or impervious, and
who were practised in flight, though incapable of fear''," estab-
lished a poweYful state, which maintained its independence for
over seven hundred years (678-1392).
Acting at first in association with the Slavs, and then
assuming " a vague dominion " over their restless Sarmatian
allies, the Bulgars spread the terror of their hated name through-
out the Balkan lands, and were prevented only by the skill of
Belisarius from, anticipating their Turki kinsmen in the over-
throw of the Byzantine Empire itself. Procopius and Jornandes
have left terrible pictures of the ferocity, debasement, and utter
savagery, both of the Bulgars and of their Slav confederates
during the period preceding the foundation of the Bulgar
dynasty in Moesia. Wherever the Slavs (Antes, Slaviru)
passed, no soul was left alive ; Thrace and Illyria were strewn
with unburied corpses ; captives were shut up with horse and
cattle in stables, and all consumed together, while the brutal
hordes danced to the music of their shrieks and groans. In-
describable was the horror inspired by the Bulgars, who killed
for killing's sake, wasted for sheer love of destruction, swept
away all works of the human hand, burnt, razed cities, left in
their wake nought but a picture of their own cheerless native
steppes. Of all the barbarians that harried the Empire, the
Bulgars have left the most detested name, although closely
rivalled by the Slavs.
J See especially Schafarik's classical work Slavische Alterthiimer, W. p. isgsq.
and V. de Saint- Martin, itudes de GSographie Ancienne et d' Ethnographic asiatiqtte,
ti. p. 10 sq., also the still indispensable Gibbon, Ch. XLii., etc.
2 Decline and Fall, XLii.
328 Man : Past and Present [ch.
To the ethnologist the later history of the Bulgarians is
of exceptional interest. They entered the Danubian lands in
the seventh century as typical Ugro-Finns, repulsive alike in
physical appearance and mental characters. Their dreaded
chief, Krum, celebrated his triumphs with sanguinary rites,
and his followers yielded in no respects to the Huns themselves
in coarseness and brutality. Yet an almost complete moral if
not physical transformation had been effected by the middle
of the ninth century, when the Bulgars were evangelised by
Byzantine missionaries, exchanged their rude Ugrian speech
for a Slavonic tongue, the so-called " Church Slav," or even
" Old Bulgarian," and became henceforth merged in the sur-
rounding Slav populations. The national name "Bulgar"
alone survives, as that of a somewhat peaceful southern "Slav"
people, who in our time again acquired the political inde-
pendence of which they had been deprived by Bajazet I. in
1392.
Nor did this name disappear from the Volga lands after the
great migration of Bulgar hordes to the Don basin during the
third and fourth centuries a.d. On the contrary,
Bulgaria*^ ^'"'^ '^^'"^ arose another and a greater Bulgar empire,
which was known to the Byzantines of the tenth
century as " Black Bulgaria," and later to the Arabs and
Western peoples as " Great Bulgaria," in contradistinction to
the " Little Bulgaria " south of the Danube\ It fell to pieces
during the later " Tatar " wars, and nothing now remains of
the Volga Bulgars, except the Volga itself from which they
\yere named.
In the same region, but farther north", lay also a "Great
Hungary," the original seat of those other Ugrian Finns known
as Hungarians and Magyars, who followed later
MaCT^^ in the track of the Bulgars, and like them formed
permanent settlements in the Danube basin, but
higher up in Pannonia, the present kingdom of Hungary.
Here, however, the Magyars had been preceded by the kindred
^ Rubruquis (thirteenth century) : "We came to the Etil, a very large and deep
river four times wider than the Seine, flowing from ' Great Bulgaria,' which lies to
the north." Farther on he adds : " It is from this Great Bulgaria that issued those
Bulgarians who are beyond the Danube, on the Constantinople side " (quoted by
V. de Saint- Martin).
^ Evidently much nearer to the Ural Mountains, for Jean du Plan Carpin says
this " Great Hungary was the land of Bascart," that is, Bashkir, a large Finno-
Turki people, who stijl occupy a considerable territory in the Orenburg Government
about the southern slopes of the Urals.
ix] The Northern Mongols 329
(or at least distantly connected) Avars, the dominant people
in the Middle Danube lands for a great part of the period
between the departure of the Huns and the arrival of the
Magyars^ Rolling up like a storm cloud from the depths of
Siberia to the Volga and Euxine, sweeping everything before
them, reducing Kutigurs, Utigurs, Bulgars, and Slavs, the
Avars presented themselves in the sixth century on the frontiers
of the empire as the unwelcome allies of Justinian. Arrested
at the Elbe by the Austrasian Franks, and hard pressed by
the Gepidae, they withdrew to the Lower Danube under the
ferocious Khagan Bayan, who, before his overthrow by the
Emperor Mauritius and death in 602, had crossed the Danube,
captured Sirmium, and reduced the whole region bordering on
the Byzantine empire. Later the still powerful Avars with
their Slav followers, "the Avar viper and the Slav locust,"
overran the Balkan lands, and in 625 nearly captured Con-
stantinople. They were at last crushed by Pepin, king of Italy,
who reoccupied Sirmium in 799, and brought back such treasure
that the value of gold was for a time enormously reduced.
Then came the opportunity of the Hunagars (Hungarians^
who, after advancing from the Urals to the Volga (550 a.d.),
had reached the Danube about 886. Here they were invited
to the aid of the Germanic king Arnulf, threatened by a for-
midable coalition of the western Slavs under the Magyar
redoubtable Zventibolg, a nominal Christian who origins and
would enter the church on horseback followed by ^^"^ 'Rscat s.
his wild retainers, and threaten the priest at the altar with the
lash. In the upland Transylvanian valleys the Hunagars had
been joined by eight of the derelict Khazar tribes, amongst
whom were the Megers or Mogers, whose name under the form
of Magyar was eventually extended to the united Hunagar-
Khazar nation. Under their renowned king Arpad, son of
Almuth, they first overthrew Zventibolg, and then with the
help of the surviving Avars reduced the surrounding Slav
populations. Thus towards the close of the ninth century was
founded in Pannonia the present kingdom of Hungary, in which
1 With them were associated many of the surviving fugitive On-Uigurs (Gibbon's
" Ogors or Varchonites "), whence the report that they were not true Avars. But
the Turki genealogies would appear to admit their claim to the name, and in any
case the Uigurs and Avars of those times cannot now be ethnically distinguished.
Kandish, one of their envoys to Justinian; is clearly a Turki name, and Varchonites
seems to point to the Warkhon (Orkhon), seat in successive ages of the eastern
Turks, the Uigurs, and the true Mongols.
330 Man : Past and Present [ch.
were absorbed all the kindred Mongol and Finno-Turki ele-
ments that still survived from the two previous Mongolo-Turki
empires, established in the same region by the Huns under
Attila (430-453), and by the Avars under Khagan Bayan
(562-602).
After reducing the whole of Pannonia and ravaging Carin-
thia and Friuli, the Hunagars raided Bavaria and Italy (899-
900), imposed a tribute on the feeble successor of Arnulf (910),
and pushed their plundering expeditions as far west as Alsace,
Lorraine, and Burgundy, everywhere committing atrocities
that recalled the memory of Attila's savage hordes. Trained
riders, a^rchers and javelin-throwers from infancy, they advanced
to the attack in numerous companies following hard upon each
other, avoiding close quarters, but wearing out their antagonists
by the persistence of their onslaughts. They were the scourge
and terror of Europe, and were publicly proclaimed by the
Emperor Otto I. (955) the enemies of God and humanity.
This period of lawlessness and savagery was closed by the
conversion of Saint Stephen I. (997-1038), after which the
Magyars became gradually assimilated in type and general
culture, but not in speech, to the western nations'. Their har-
monious and highly cultivated language still remains a typical
member of the, Ural-Altaic family, reflecting in its somewhat
composite vocabulary the various Finno-Ugric and Turki ele-
ments (Ugrians and Permians from the Urals, Volga Finns,
Turki Avars and Khazars), of which the substratum of the
Magyar nation is constituted^
"The modern Magyars," says Peisker, "are one of the
most varied race-mixtures on the face of the earth, and one of
the two chief Magyar types of today — -traced to the Arpad era
[end of ninth century] by tomb-findings — is dolichocephalic
with a narrow visage. There we have before us Altaian origin,
Ugrian speech and Indo-European type combined'."
Politically the Magyars continue to occupy a position of
vital importance in Eastern Europe, wedged in between the
' Ethnology, p. 309.
2 Vambery, perhaps the best authority on this point, holds that in its structure
Magyar leans more to the Finno-Ugric, and in its vocabulary to the Turki branch
of the Ural-Altaic linguistic family. He attributes the effacement of the physical
type partjy to the effects of the environment, partly to the continuous interminglings
of the Ugric, Turki, Slav, and Germanic peoples in Pannonia (" Ueber den Ursprung
.der Magyaren," in Mitt. d. K. K. Geograph. Ges.., Vienna, 1897, XL. Nos. 3 and 4).
^ T. Peisker, " The Asiatic Background," Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. I.
1911, p. 356.
ix] The Northern Mongols 331
northern and southern Slav peoples, and thus presenting an
insurmountable obstacle to the aspirations of the Panslavist
dreamers. The fiery and vigorous Magyar nationality, a com-
pact body of about 8,000,000 ( 1 898), holds the boundless plains
watered by the Middle Danube and the Theiss, and thus per-
manently separates the Chechs, Moravians, and Slovaks of
Bohemia and the northern Carpathians from their kinsmen,
the Yugo-Slavs ("Southern Slavs") of Servia and the other
now Slavonised Balkan lands. These Yugo-Slavs are in their
turn severed by the Rumanians of Neo-Latin speech from their
northern and eastern brethren, the Ruthenians, Poles, Greal
and Little Russians. Had the Magyars and Rumanians adopted
any of the neighbouring Slav idioms, it is safe to say that, like
the Ugrian Bulgarians, they must have long ago been absorbed
in the surrounding Panslav world, with consequences to the
central European nations which it would not be difficult to fore-
cast. Here we have a striking illustration of the influence of
language in developing and preserving the national sentiment,
analogous in many- respects to that now witnessed on a larger
scale amongst the English-speaking populations on both sides
of the Atlantic and in the Austral lands. From this point of
view the ethnologist may unreservedly accept Ehrenreich's
trenchant remark that " the nation stands and falls with its
speech^"
1 "Das Volk steht und fallt mit der Sprache" {Urbewohner Brasiliens, 1897,
p. 14).
CHAPTER X
THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES
American Origins — Fossil Man in America — ^The Lagoa-Santa Race — Physical
Type in North America — Cranial Deformation — The Toltecs — Type Oi
N.W. Coast Indians — Date of Migrations— Evidence from Linguistics — Stock
Languages — Culture — Classification — By Linguistics — Ethnic Movements —
Archaeological Classification — Cultural Classification — Eskimo Area' —
Material Culture — Origin and Affinities — Physical Type — Social Life—
Mackenzie Area — The Dene — Material Culture— Physical Type — Social Life
— North Pacific Coast Area — Material Culture — Physical Type — Social Life —
Plateau Area — Mattrial Culture — Interior Salish— Social Organisation—
Californian Area — Material Culture — Social Life — Plains At-ea — Material
Culture— Dakota — Religion — The Sun Dance — Pawnee — Blackfeet — Arapaho
— Cheyenne — Eastern Woodland Area — Material Culture — Central Group —
Eastern Group — Iroquoian Tribes: Ojibway — Religion — Iroquois — South-
eastern Area — Material Culture — Creeks — Yuchi — Mound-Builders — South-
western Area — -Material Culture — Transitional or Intermediate Tiibes —
Pueblos — Cliff Dwellings — Religion — Physical Type — Social Life.
Conspectus.
Present Range. N. W. Pacific Coastlands : the shores
of^he Arctia Ocean. Labrador, and Greenland : ,the unsettled
Distribution f^Z^? of Alaska and the Dominion ; Reservations
in Past and and Agencies in the Dominion and the United
Present Times. States; Mrts of Florida, Arizona, and New
Mexico ; most 0/ Central ajid^Jluth America with Fuegia
ejlhex^ wild and ftdl^b^^^tofi^r semi-civili^&dJui^^du^Mds.
Hai^r, black, lank, coarse, often very long., nearly round in
transverse section; very scanty on face ^^^ractically absent
on body] Colour, differs, accordmf to locajities,
Characters fxSJ2L^^^^y y^llowish whiteito jhat of solid choco-
IcUe, but the prevailing, colour is J)rown ; Skull,
generally iftesaticephalous (79), but with wide range from 65
(some Eskimo) to 89 or 90 {some British Colum,bians, Peru-
vians) ; the OS Incae more frequently present tfian amqn£fst
other^ races, but^ne~os finguae {hyoid bone) often imperfectly
aeveloped; Jaws, m-assive, but moderately pi^ojectingj Cheek-
bone, as cT'nde rather pi'ominent laterally, ana a ho higji ;
CH. x] The American Aborigines 333
Nose, f^ierally lci.rge,_st7'ai^ht or even aquiline, and mesor-
rhine ; Kyes, near^°'aTze>a;ys ^ark_^j^Q3ijn, with a yelloivish
conjunctiva, and iEe eye-slits"l7iow~'a prevailinz tendency to a
slis[ht upward slant ; Stature, usually above the medium i 728 m.
if) ft- 8 or 10 in.), bufvariable — ttnder i"677 m. {s/t- 6 in.) on
fhe western plateaux (Peruvians, etc.), also in Fuegia and
Alaska; i '8 29 ;;/. (6 ft.) and upwards in Patagonia ( Tehuelches),
Central Brazil(Bororos)and Prairie (Algonquians, Iroquoians);
the relative proportions of the two elements of the arms and of
the legs {radio-humeral and tibio-femoral indices) are interm^e-
diate between those of whites and negroes.
Temperamept. moody, reserved, and wary; outwardly
impassive and capable of'end.urvng extreme physical pain ; con-
siderate towards~edch other, kind and^gentle to-
wards their women and children, ~Sutnoi in a characters
demonstrative m.anner; keen sense of justice, hence^
easily offended, but also easily pacified. The outward show of
dignity and a lofty air assumed by many seems due more to
vanity or ostentation than to a feeling of true pride. Mental
capacity considerabf&^jmick higkenJkan the Negro, but on tM£.^
whole inferior to the Mongol.
Speegli, exclusively polysynthetic, a type unknown elscj
where; is notja_priptitivR .Lakditinn, JmLjxJllgMy.^ specialised
form of ae'sfutination, in which all the terms of the sentence
tend to coalesce in a single polysyllabic word; stock languages
very numerous, perhaps m.ore so than all the stock languages
of all the other orders of speech in the rest of the world.
Religion, various grades of spirit and nature worship,
corresponding to the various cultural grades ; a crude fornTof
shamanism prevafentjiimi'agsJL. mast of the_J\[ortk_^ A merican
oEorigines, polytheism with mcrifice and priestcrqft amongst
the cultured feoples' {A^tecSjjMaycis, etc.); the^monotheisljc
concept nowhere~7lear7yjvoh)e^; belief in^ a natural after-life
vejy prevaJ^nJj^JMLMJWJ&t:^-
~~ Culture, highly diversified, ranging from the lowest stages
of savagery through various degrees of barbarism to the advanced
social state of the more or less civilised Mayas, Aztecs, Chibchas,
Yungas, Quichuas, andAymaras; amongst these poUery, weaving,
metal-work, agriculture, and especially architecture fairly well
^e^^e3; letters less so, alMo^^jfieJMaya script seentLM
a^^mreached the tru±_ phonetic .Siat&.; navigation and .sden££
ruStmentary or absent ; savagery generally far more prevalent
334 Man : Past and Present [ch.
I. Eskimo.
II. Mackenzie Area. Dene tribes.
I Yellow Knives, i Dog Rib, 3 Hares, 4 Slavey, s Chipewyan, 6 Beaver,
7 Nahane, 8 Sekani, 9 Babine, 10 Carrier, 11 Loucheux, 12 Ahtena, 13 Khotana.
III. North Pacific Area.
14 Tlingit,' 15 Haida, 16 Kwakiutl, 17 Bellacoola, 18 Coast Salish, 19 Nootka,
30 Chinook, 2 r Kalapooian.
IV. Plateau Area.
22 Shahapts or Nez Perces, 23 Shoshoni, 24 Interior Salish, Thompson,
25 Lillooet, 26 Shushwap.
V. Californian Area.
27 Wintun, 28 Porno, 29 Miwok, 30 Yokut.
VI. Plains Area.
31 Assiniboin, 32 Arapaho, 33 Siksika or Blackfoot, 34 Blood, 35 Piegan,
36 Crow, 37 Cheyenne, 38 Comanche, 39 Gros Ventre, 40 Kiowa, 41 Sarsi,
42 Teton-Dakota (Sioux), 43 Arikara, Hidatsa, Mandan, 44 Iowa, 45 Mis-
souri, 46 Omaha, 47 Osage, 48 Oto, 49 Pawnee, 50 Ponca, 51 Santee-Dakota
(Sioux), 52 Yankton-Dakota (Sioux), 53 Wichita, 54 Wind River Shoshoni,
55 Plains-Ojibway, 56 Plains-Cree.
VII. Eastern Woodland Area.
57 Ojibway, 58 Saulteaux, 59 Wood Cree, 60 Montagnais, 61 Naskapi, 62 Huron,
63 ^Vyandot, 64 Erie, 65 Susquehanna, 66 Iroquois, 67 Algonquin, 68 Ottawa,
69 Menomini, 70 Sauk and Fox, 71 Potawatomi, 72 Peoria, 73 Illinois,
74 Kickapoo, 75 Miami, 76 Abnaki, 77 Micmac.
VIII. South-eastern Area.
78 Shawnee, 79 Creek, 80 Chickasaw, 81 Choctaw, 82 Seminole, 83 Cherokee,
84 Tuscarora, 85 Yuchi, 86 Powhatan, 87 Tunican, 88 Natchez.
IX. South-western Area. Pueblo tribes.
89 Hopi, 90 Zuni, 9r Rio Grande, 92 Navaho, 93 Pima, 94 Mohave, 95 Jica-
rilla, 96 Mescalero.
X]
The American Aborigines
335
Map of Areas of Material Culture in North America (after C. Wissler,
Am. Anth. XVI. 1914).
33^ Man : Past and Present [ch.
and intense in South than in North America, but the tribal
state almost everywhere persistent.
North America: Eskimauan (Innuit, Aleut, Karalit) ;
Athapascan (Dene, Pacific division, Apache, Navaho) ; Kolu-
. ... schan; Algonquian (Delaware, Abnaki, Ojib-
way, Shawnee, Arapaho, Sauk and Fox, Black-
feet) ; /rtf^z<(?z«« (Huron, Mohawk, Tuscarora, Senec^, Cayuga,
Onondaga) ; Siouan (Dakota, Omaha, Crow, Iowa, Osage,
Assiniboin); Shoshonian {^ovcvaxvc^^, Ute); Salishan; Shahap-
tian; Caddoan; Muskhogean (Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw,
Seminole); Pueblo (Zunian, Keresan, Tanoan).
Central America: Nahuatlan (Aztec, Pipil, Niquiran);
Huaxtecan {M.2ij2i, Quiche); Totonac ; Miztecan; Zapotecan;
Chorotegan; Tarascan; Otomitlan; Talamancan; Choco.
South America : Muyscan (Chibcha) ; Quichuan (Inca,
Aymara) ; Yungan (Chimu) ; Antisan ; Jivaran; Zaparan ;
Betoyan; Maku; Pana {C3.sh.1ho, Karipuna, Setebo); Ticunan;
Chiquitan; Arawakan (Arua, Maypure, Vapisiana, Ipurina,
Mahinaku, Layana, Kustenau, Moxo); Cariban (Bakairi, Na-
huqua, Galibi, Kalina, Arecuna, Macusi, Ackawoi) ; Tupi-
Guaranian (Omagua, Mundurucu, Kamayura, Emerillon) ;
Gesan (Botocudo, Kayapo, Cherentes) ; Charruan ; Bororo ;
Karayan; Guaycuruan (Abipones, Mataco, Toha); A raucanian
or Moluchean ; Patagonian or Tehuelchean (Pilma, Yacana,
Ona) ; Ennem-an (Lengua, Sanapana, Angaites) ; Fuegian
(Yahgan, Alakaluf).
•
1 1 is impossible to dissociate the ethnological history of the
New World from that of the Old. The absence from America
at any period of the world's history not only of anthropoid apes
but also of the Cercopithecidae, in other words
OriSnT' of the Catarrhini, entirely precludes the possibility
of the independentorigm of man iri~tEe| western
hemisphere. TEierefbre the population o?*lKe Americas must
have come from the Old World. In prehistoric times there were
only two possible routes for such immigration to~Tiave taken
place. For the mid- Atlantic land corihectiotrwas severed long
ages before the appearance of man, and the connection of South
America with Antarctica had also long disappeared \ We are
therefore compelled to look to a farther extension of land be-
tween North America and northern Europe on the one hand,
' A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of Peoples, 191 1, p. 72.
x] The American Aborigines 337
and between north-west Americfi and north-east Asia on the
other. We know that inJateJTertiary times there was a land-
bridge connecting north-west Europe with Greenland, and
Scharff' beHeves that the Barren-ground reindeer took this
route to Norway and western Europe during early glacial times,
but that "towards the latter part of the Glacial period^the land-
connection broke down." Other authorities are of opinion
that the continuous land between the two continents in higher
latitudes remained until post-glacial times. Brinton° considered
that it was impossible for man to have reached America from
Asia, because^Siberia was'covered with glaciers and not peopled
until late NeQlithic^unes. whereas man was living in both
North and South America at the close of the Glacial Age.
He acknowledged frequent communication in later times be-
tween Asia and America, but maintained that the movement
was rather from America to Asia than otherwise. He was
therefore a strong advocate-_Q£-JLhe European origin ofj:he
American race. There is no doubt that North America was
connected witn Asia in Tertiary times, though some geologists
assert that " the far North-west did not rise from the waves
of the Pacific Ocean (which once flowed with a boundless ex-
panse to the North Pole) until after the glacial period." In
that case "the first inhabitants of America certainly did not
get there in this way, for by that time the bones of many
generations were already bleaching on the soil of the New
World'." The " Miocene Bridge," as the land connecting
Asia and America in late geological times has been called, was
probably very wide, one side would stretch from Kamchatka
to British Columbia, and the other across Behring Strait. If,
as seems probable, this connection persisted till, or was recon-
stituted during, the human period, tribes migrating to America
by the more northerly route would enter the land east of the
great barrier of the Rocky Mountains. The route from the
Old World to the New by the Pacific margin probably remained
nearly always open. Thus, while not denying the pgssibilitv
of a very early migration from "NortK'^urope to North AmencsP
through Greenland, it appears more probable that America
received its population from North Asia. ^
We have next to determine what were the characteristics
1 R. F. Scharff, The History of the European Fauna, 1899, pp. 155, 186.
2 D. G. Brinton, The American Race, 1 891.
3 K. Haebler, The World's History (ed. Helmolt), I. 1901, p. 181.
K. 22
338 Man : Past and Present [ch.
of the earliest inhabitants of America, and the approximate
date of their arrival. There have been many sen-
America *° *" • national accounts of the dispoveries of fossil man
in America, which have not been able to stand
the criticism of scientific investigation. It must always be
remembered that the evidence is primarily one of stratigraphy.
Assuming, of course, that the human skeletal remains found in
a given deposit are contemporaneous with the formation of
that deposit and not subsequently interred in it, it is for the
geologist to determine the age. The amount of petrifaction
and the state of preservation of the bones are quite fallacious
nor can much reliance be placed upon the anatorqical character
of the remains. Primordial human remains may be expected
to show ancestral characters' to a marked degree, but as we
have insufficient data to enable us to determine the rate of
evolution, anatomical considerations must fit into the time-
scale granted by the geologist.
Apart from pure stratigraphy associated animal remains
may serve to support or refute the claims to antiquity, while
the presence of artifacts, objects made or used by man, may
afford evidence for determining the relative date if the cultural
stratigraphy of the area has been sufficiently established.
Fortunately the fossil human remains of America have been
carefully studied by a competent authority who says, " Irre-
spective of other considerations, in every instance where enough
of the bones is preserved for comparison the somatological
evidence bears witness against the geological antiquityof the
remains and for their close affinity to, or identity with those of
the modern Indian. Under these circumstances but one con-
clusion is justified, which is that thus far on this continent, no
human, bones of undisputed geological antiquity are known'."
Hrdlicka subsequently studied the remaihsof South America
and says, "A conscientious, imbiased study of all the available
facts has shown that the whole structure erected in support of
the theory of geologically ancient man on that continent rests
on very imperfectly and incorrectly interpreted data and in
many instances on false premises, and as a consequence of
these weaknesses must completely collapse when subjected to
searching criticism. — As to the antiquity of the various archaeo-
logical remains from Argentina attributed to early man, all
^ A. Hrdlicka, "Skeletal Remains suggesting or attributed to Early Man in
North America," Bureau Am. Eth. Bull. 33, 1907, p. 98.
^1 The American Aborigines 339
those to which, particular importance has been attached have
been found without tenable claim to great age, while others,
mostly single objects, without exception fall into the category
of ;he doubtfuP."
The conclusions of W. H. Holmes, Bailey Willis, F. E.
Wright and C. N. Fenner, who collaborated with Hrdlicka,
with regard to the evidence thus far furnished, are that, " it
fails to establish the claim that in South America there have
been brought forth thus far tangible traces of either geologically
ancient man'himself or of any precursors of the human race^"
Hrdlicka is careful to add, however, " This should not be
taken as a categorical denial of the existence of early man in
South America, however improbable such a presence may now
appear."
According to J. W. Gidley' the evidence of vertebrate
paleontology indicates (i) That man did not exist in North
America at the beginning of the Pleistocene although there
was a land connection between Asia and North America
at that time permitting a free passage for large mammals.
(2) That a similar land connection was again in existence at
the close of the last glacial epoch, and probably continued up
to comparatively recent times, as indicated by the close re-
semblance of related living mammalian species on either side
of the present Behring Strait. (3) That the first authentic
records of prehistoric man in America have been found in
deposits that are not older than the last glacial epoch, and
probably of even later date, the inference being that man first
found his way into North America at some time near the close
of the existence of this last land bridge. (4) That this land
bridge was broad and vegetative, and the climate presumably
mild, at least along its southern coast border, making it habit-
able for man.
Rivef* points out that from Brazil to Terra del Fuegia on
the Atlantic slope, in Bolivia and Peru, on the high plateaux
of the Andes, on the Pacific coast and perhaps
in the south of California, traces of a distinct race g^^^ ^°g"
are met with, sometimes in single individuals,
sometimes in whole groups. This race of Lagoa Santa is an
1 A. Hrdlicka, "Early Man in South America," Bureau Am. Eth. Bull. 52, 1912.
^ Loc. cit. pp. 385-6.
3 American Anthropologist, xiv. 1912, p. 22.
* P. Rivet, "La Race de Lagoa-Santa chez les populations prdcolombiennes
de r^quateur," Bull. Soc. itAnth. v. 2, 1908, p. 264.
340 Man: Past and Present [ch.
important primordial element in the population of South
America, and has been termed by Deniker the Palaeo-
American sub-race\
The men were of low stature but considerable strength, ^the
skull was long, narrow and high, of moderate size, prognathous,
with strong brow ridges, but not a retreating forehead. There
is no reliable evidence as to the age of these remains. H rdlicka,
after reviewing all the evidence says, "Besides agreeing closely
with the dolichocephalic American type, which had an extensive
representation throughout Brazil, including the* Province of
Minas Geraes, and in many other parts of South America, it is
the same type which is met with farther north among the Aztec,
Tarasco, Otomi, Tarahumare, Pima, Californians, ancient Utah
cliff dwellers, ancient north-eastern Pueblos, Shoshoni, many
of the Plains Tribes, Iroquois, Eastern Siouan, and Algonquian.
But it is apart from the Eskimo, who form a distinct subtype
of the yellow-brown strain of humanity"."
Rivet^ adds that an examination of the present distribution
of the descendants of the Lagoa-Santa type shows that they are
all border peoples, in East Brazil, and the south of Patagonia
and Terra del Fuegia, where the climate is rigorous, in desert
islands of west and southern Chili, on the coast of Ecuador, and
perhaps in California. This suggests that they have been
driven out in a great eccentric movement from their old habitat,
into new environment producing fresh crossings.
There is an absence of this high narrow-headed type
throughout the northern part of South America, and a pre-
valence of medium or sub-brachycephalic heads which are
always low in the crown. These are now represented by the
Caribs and Arawaks, but there was more than one migration
of br^chycephalic peoples from the north.
To return to North America. As we have just seen
H rdlicka recognises a dolichocephalic element in North
Physical Type America, and various ethnic groups range to pro-
in North nounced brachycephaly. Nevertheless he believes
erica. j^^ ^j^^ Original unity of the Indian race in America,
basing his conclusions on the colour of the skin, which ranges
from yellowish white to dark brown, the straight black hair,
scanty beard, hairless body, brown and often more or less slanting
' J. Deniker, The Races of Man, igoo, p. 512.
2 Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. 52, 1912, pp. 183-4.
^ Loc. cit. p. 267.
x] The American Aborigines 341
eye, mesorrhine nose, medium prognathism, skeletal propor-
tions and other essential features. In all these characters the
American Indians resemble the yellowish brown peoples of
eastern Asia and a large part of Polynesia\ He also believes
that there were many successive migrations from Asia.
The differences of opinion between Hrdlicka and other
students is probably more a question of nomenclature than of
fact. The eastern Asiatics and Polynesians are mixed peoples,
and if there vyere numerous migrations from Asia, spread over
a very long period of time, people of different stocks would
have found their way into America. " It is indeed probable,"
Hrdlicka adds, " that the western coast of America, within the
last two thousand years, was on more than one occasion reached
by small parties of Polynesians, and that the eastern coast was
similarly reached by small groups of whites ; but these ac-
cretions have not modified greatly, if at all, the mass of the native
population^"
The inhabitants of the plains east of the Rocky Mountains
and the eastern wooded area are characterised by a head which
varies about the lower limit of brachycephaly, and by tall
stature. This stock probably arrived by the. North Pacific
Bridge before the end of the last Glacial period, and extended
over the continent east of the great divide. Finally bands from
the north, east and south migrated into the prairie area. The
markedly brachycephalic immigrants from Asia appear to have
proceeded mainly down the Pacific slope and to have populated
Central and South America, with an overflow into the south
of North America. It is probable that there were several
migrations of allied but not similar broad-headed peoples from
Asia in early days, and we know that recently there have been
racial and cultural drifts between the neighbouring portions of
America and Asia'. Indeed Bogoras* suggests that ethno-
graphically the line separating Asia and America should lie
from the lower Kolyma River to Gishiga Bay.
Owing to these various immigrations and subsequent
minglings the cranial forms show much variation, and are not
sufficiently significant to serve as a basis of classification. In
parts of North America the round-headed mound-builders and
1 A. Hrdlicka, Am. Anth. XIV. 1912, p. 10.
2 Ibid. p. 12.
3 A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of Peoples, 1911, pp. 78-9.
* W. Bogoras, Am. Anth. iv. 19132, p. 577.
342 Man: Pc^st and Present [ch.
others were encroached upon by populations of increasingly-
dolichocephalic type — Plains Indians and Cherokees, Chichi-
mecs, Tepanecs, Acolhuas. Even still dolichocephaly is charac-
teristic of Iroquois, Coahuilas, Sonorans, while the intermediate
indices met with on the prairies and plateaux undoubtedly
indicate the mixture between the long-headed invaders and the
round-heads whom they swept aside as they advanced south-
wards. Thus the Minnetaris are highly dolicho ; the Poncas
and Osages sub-brachy ; the Algonquians variable, while the
Siouans oscillate widely round a mesaticephalous mean.
The Athapascans alone are hornogeneous, and their sub-
brachycephaly recurs amongst the Apaches and their other
southern kindred, who have given it an exagge-
Deformation rated form by the widespread practice of artificial
deformation, which dates from remote times.
The most typical cases both of brachy and dolicho deformation
are from the Cerro de las Palmas graves in south-west Mexico.
Deformation prevails also in Peru and Bolivia, as well as in
Ceara and the Rio Negro on the Atlantic side. The flat-head
form, so common from the Columbia estuary to Peru, occurs
amongst the broad-faced Huaxtecs, their near relations the
Maya-Quiches, and the Nahuatlans. It is also found amongst
.c-r If " the extinct Cebunys of Cuba, Hayti and Jamaica, ,
and the so-called " Toltecs," that is, the people
of Tollan (Tula), who first founded a civilised state on the
Mexican table-land (sixth and seventh centuries a.d.), and whose
name afterwards became associated with every ancient monu-
ment throughout Central America. On this "Toltec question"
the most contradictory theories are current ; some hold that
the Toltecs were a great and powerful nation, who after the
overthrow of their empire migrated southwards, spreading their
culture throughout Central America ; others regard them as
" fabulous," or at all events " nothing more than a sept of the
Nahuas themselves, the ancestors of those Mexicans who built
Tehochtitlan," i.e. the present city of Mexico. A third view,
that of Valentini, that the Toltecs were not Nahuas but Mayas,
is now supported both by E. P. Dieseldorff^ and by F6rstemann^
T. A. Joyce' suggests that the vanguard of the Nahuas on
reaching the Mexican valley adopted and improved the culture
^ Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. 28, 1904, p. 535.
^ Globus, Lxx. No. 3.
■■^ Mexican Archaeology, 1914, p. 7 fif.
'^] The American Aborigines 343
of an agricultural people of Tarascan affinities whose culture
was in part due to Mayan inspiration, whom they found settled
there. Later migrations of Nahua were greatly impressed with
the "Toltec" culture which had thus arisen through the impact
of a virile hunting people on more passive agriculturalists.
On the North-west Pacific Coast similar ethnical inter-
minglings recur, and Franz Boas' here distinguishes as many as
four types, the Northern (Tsimshian and others), ^ eof
the Kwakiutl, the Lillooet of the Harrison Lake N^h-west
region and the inland Salishan (Flat-heads, Coast Indians
Shuswaps, etc. ). All are brachycephalic, but while Variable,
the Tsimshians are of medium height i'675 m. (5 ft. 6 in.) with
low, concave nose, very large head, and enormously broad face,
exceeding the average for North America by 6 mm., the
Kwakiutls are shorter i -645 m. (5 ft. 4f in.) with very high and
relatively narrow hooked nose, and quite exceptionally high
face; the Harrison Lake very short i-6oom. (5 ft 3 in.) with
exceedingly short and broad head (c. i. nearly 89), "surpassing
in this respect all other forms known to exist in North America" ;
lastly, the inland Salish of medium height i"679 m. (5 ft. 6 in.)
with high and wide nose of the characteristic Indian form and
a short head.
It would be difficult to find anywhere a greater contrast
than that which is presented by some of these British Columbian
natives, those, for instance, of Harrison Lake with almost cir-
cular heads (88"8), and some of the Labrador Eskimo with a
degree of dolichocephaly not exceeded even by the Fijian Kai-
Colos (65) ^ But this violent contrast is som'ewhat toned by
the intermediate forms, such as those of the Tlingits, the
Aleutian islanders, and the western (Alaskan) Eskimo, by which
the transition is effected between the Arctic and the more
southern populations. It is not possible at present to indicate
even in outline the chronology of any of the ethnic
movements outlined above. Warren K. Moore- ^^^ °^ ^^^^'
head^ agrees with the great majority of American
archaeologists in holding the existence of palaeolithic man in
North America as not proven', the so-called palaeoliths being
1 " The Social Organization, etc. of the Kwakiutl Indians," Rep. U.S. Nat. Mus.
1895, Washington (1897), p. 321 sq. and Ann. Arch. Rep. 1905, Toronto, 1906,
p. 84.
2 W. L. H. Duckworth, /(?«r«. Anthr. Inst., August, 1895.
' The Stone Age in North America, 191 1.
* On the other hand there are a few American archaeologists who believe in
344 Man : Past and Present [ch.
either rejects or rude tools for rough purposes. When man
migrated to America from North and East^Asia whenever that
period may have been, he appears to have beenTrTthat stage
of culture — -or ratHeFof stone techniqu^^^^^^^^uch we term iSfeo-
lithic, and the drifting: movement ceased EelweTieTaH learnt
the use oi metals.
" Afurther^oof of the antiquity of the migrations is afforded
by linguistics. A. F. Chamberlain asserts^ that " it may be said
with certainty, sofaras all data'Hitherto presented
L^gufeticr™ ^""^ concerned, that no satisfactory proof whate^gr
has been put forward t^mduceAis to bplieyejthat
any single American IndianTtongue or group of tongues^has
been derived from any Old World form of speech now existing
o£known to have existed in the past. Iji whateKerlS^ItDe
multiplicity _ of American Indian languages and dialects may
have arisen, one can be reasonably sure that the differentiation
and divergence have developed here in A.merica and are m
nonsense due to the occasional intrusion of Old World tongues
individually or en masse.... Q,&x\2sn real relationships between
the American Indians and the peoples of north-eastern Asia;
known as ' Paleo- Asiatics,' have, however, been revealed as a
result of the extensive investigations of the Jesup North Pacific
Expedition The general conclusion to be drawn from the
evidence is that the so-called ' Paleo- Asiatic ' peoples of north-
eastern Asia, i.e. tEe Chukchee, Koryak, K amchad ale^Gilyak,
VukagEir,"etc. really belong pViyQtrally.anrI ntkurally with the
aborigines of north-western America Like the modern Asiatic
EsMffio'they represent a reflex from America and Asia, and
not vice versa It is the opinion of good authorities also that the
' Paleo- Asiatic ' jgeoplesbelong linguistically witTiltHe^jm^ncari
I n"3ians rather than with the other tribes^and stocks of northgrn
or southern A.sia. Here we have then the orily real relationship
of a linguistic character that has ever been convincingly argued
between tongues of the New World and tongues of the Old."
p- It is not merely that the American languages differ from
other forms of speech in their general phonetic, structural and
lexical features ; they differ from them in their very morphology,
^s much, for instance, as in the zoological world class differs
i _
the occurrence of irtiplements of palaeolithic type in the United States, but there
is no corroborative evidence on the part of contemporaneous fossils. See N. H.
Winchell, "The weathering of aboriginal stone artifacts," No. i. Collection of the
Minnesota Hist. Soc. Vol. xvi. 191 3.
^ Am. Anth. xiv. 1912, p. 55.
'^'] The American Aborigines 345
from class, order from order^ They have all of them developed
on the same polyjsyniEetir'llrips, from which if a few here and
there now appear to depart, it is only because in the course of
their further evolution they have, so to say, broken away from
that prototype'. Take the rudest or the most highly cultivated
anywhere from Alaska to Fuegia— Eskimauan, Iroquoian,
Algonquian, Aztec, Tarascan, Ipurina, Peruvian, Yahgan —
and you will find each and all giving abundant evidence of this
universal polysynthetic character^ not one_true instance of which
can be tolIiiH" anywhere in jthe eastern hemTsphere. Ihere is
incorporation with the verb, as in Basque, many of the Caucasus
tongues, and the Ural-Altaic group; but it is everywhere limited
to pronominal and purely relational elements.
But in the American order of speech there is no such limita-
tion, and not merely the pronouns, which are restricted in
number, but the nouns with their attributes, which are practi-
' cally numberless, all enter necessarily, into the verbal paradigm.
Thus in Tarascan (Mexico): hopocuni=to wash the hands T"
hopodini=x.o wash the ears, from hoponi=\.o wash, which can-
not be used alone^ So in Ipurina (Amazonia): nicufacatfau-
rumatini{= I draw the cord tight round your waist, from ni, I ;
cugaca, to draw tight; tfa, cord; tHruma, waist; tini, character-
istic verbal affix; /, thy, referring to waist*.
We see from such examples that polysynthesis is not a^
primitive condition of speech, as is often asserted, but on the
contrary a highly developed system, in which the original ag-
glutinative process has gone so far as to attract all the elements
of the sentence to the verb, round which they cluster like
swarming bees round their queen. In Eskimauan the tendency ~
is shown in the construction of nouns and verbs, by which
other classes of words are made almost unnecessary, and one
1 Such disintegration is clearly seen in the Carib still surviving in Dominica,
of which J. Numa Rat contributed a somewhat full account to the Journ. Anthr.
Inst, for Nov. 1897, p. 293 sq. Here the broken form arametakuahdtina buka
appears to represent the polysynthetic arametakuanientibubuka (root arameta, to
hide), as in P6re Breton's Grammaire Caraibe, p. 45, where we have also the form
arametakualubatibubasubutuiruni=V.nQvi that he will conceal thee (p. 48).' It
may at the same time be allowed that great inroads have been made on the prin-
ciple of polysynthesis even in the continental (South American) Carib, as well as
in the Colombian Chibcha, the Mexican Otomi and Pima, and no doubt in some
other linguistic groups. But that the system must have formerly been continuous
over the whole of America seems proved by the persistence of extremely poly-
synthetic tongues in such widely separated regions as Greenland (Eskimo),
Mexico (Aztec), Peru (Quichuan), and Chili (Araucanian).
' R. da la Grasserie and N. Ldon, Langue Tarasgue, Paris, 1896.
3 J. E. R. Polak, Ipurina Grammar, etc., London, 1894.
34^ Man : Past and Present [ch.
word, sometimes of interminable length, is able to express
a whole sentence with its subordinate clauses. H. Rink, one
of the first Eskimo scholars of modern times, gives the instance :
' ' Su^rukame - autdlasassoq - tusaramiuk-tuningingmago-iluarin-
gilit = they did not approve that he {a) had ofmitted to give
him [b) something, as he [a) heard that he (<J),was going to
depart on account of being destitute of everything\" Such
monstrosities "are so complicated that in daily speech they
could hardly ever occur ; but still they are correct and can be
understood by intelligent peopled"
He gives another and much longer example, which the
reader may be spared, adding that there are altogether about
200 particles, as many as ten of which may be piled up on any
given stem. The process also often involves great phonetic
changes, by which the original form of the elements becomes
disguised, as, for instance, in the English ^(St^'o^^ = half-penny-
worth. The attempt to determine the number of words that -
might be formed in this way on a single stem, such as igdlo, a
house, had to be given up after getting as far as the compound
igdlorssualiortugssarsiumavoq = he wants to find one who will
build a large house.
It is clear that such a linguistic evolution implies both the
postulated isolation from other influences, which must have
disturbed and broken up the cumbrous process, and also the
postulated long period of time to develop and consolidate the
system throughout the New World. ' But time is still more
imperiously demanded by the vast number of
gua^es ^" stock languages, many already extinct, many still
current all over the continent, all of which diffpr
profoundly in their vocabulary, often also in their phonesis,
and in fact have nothing in common except this extraordinary
polysynthetic groove in which they are cast. There are probably
about 75 stock languages in North-America, of which 1^8 occur
noHFoLMjexico.
But even that conveys but a faint idea of the astonishing
diversity of speech prevailing in this truly linguistic Babel.
' The Eskimo Tribes, their Distribution and Characteristics, Copenhagen,
1887, I. p. 62 sq.
'^ In fact this very word was first given "as an ordinary example" by Klein-
schmidt, Gram. d. Gronlandischen Sprache, Sect, gg, and is also quoted by Byrne,
who translates : " They disapproved of him, because he did not give to him, when
he heard that he would go off, because he had nothing" {Principles, etc., I.
p. 140).
-"^J The American Aborigines 347
J. W. PowelP points out that the practically distinct idioms are
far more numerous than might be inferred even from such a
large number of mother tongues. Thus, in the Algonquian^
linguistic family he tells us there are about 40, no one of
which could be understood by a people speaking another ; in
Athapascan from 30 to 40 ; in Siouan over 20 ; and in Shosho-
nian a still greater number I The greatest linguistic diversity
in a relatively small area is found in the state of California,
where, according to Powell's classification, 22 distinct sto'cTTs
of languages are spoken. R. B. Dixon and A. ITTTroeBer''
show however that these fall into three morphological groups
which are also characterised by certain cultural features. It is
the same, or perhaps even worse, in Central and in South
Arnerica, where the linguistic confusion is so great that no
complete classification of the native tongues seems possible.
Clements R. Markham in the third edition of his exhaustive
list, of the Amazonian tribes' has no less than 1087 entries.
He concludes that these may be referred to 485 distinct tribes
in all the periods, since the days of Acuna (1639). Deducting
some 1 1 1 as extinct or nearly so, the total amounts to "323 at
the outside" (p. 135). But for such linguistic differences, large
numbers of these groups would be quite indistinguishable from
each other, so great is the prevailing similarity in physical ap-
pearance and usages in many districts. Thus Ehrenreich tells
us that, " despite their ethnico-linguistic differences, the tribes
about the head-waters of the Xingu present complete uniformity
in their daily habits, in the conditions of their existence, and
their general culture^" though it is curious to note that the art
of making pottery is restricted here to the Arawak tribes'.
' " Indian Linguistic Families of America north of Mexico," Seventh Ann.
Refit. Bureau of Ethnology, 1885-6 (1891). See also the " Handbook of American
Indian Languages," Part I by Franz Boas and others, Bureau of American Eth-
nology, Bulletin 40, 191 1. The Introduction by F. Boas gives a good general
idea of the characteristics of these languages and deals shortly with related
problems.
^ Following this ethnologist's convenient precedent, I use both in Ethnology
and here the final syllable an to indicate stock races and languages in America.
Thus Algonquin— Xhs. particular tribe and language of that name; Algonquian
= the whole family; Iroquois, Iroquoian, Carib, Cariban, etc.
3 Forum, Feb. 1898, p. 683.
* Studies of these languages by Kroeber and others will be found in University
of California Publications ; American Archaeology and Ethnology, L. 1903 on-
wards. Cf. also A. L. Kroeber, " The Languages of the American Indians," Pop.
Sci. Monthly, Lxxvni. 191 1.
5 Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910, p. 73.
8 Urbewohner Brasiliens, 1897, p. 46.
' Karl V. d. Steinen, Uriter den Naturvolkern Zentral-Brasiliens, 1894, p. 215.
348 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Yet amongst them are represented three of the radically distinct
linguistic groups of Brazil, some (Bakairi and Nahuqua) be-
longing to the Carib, some (Aueto and Kamayura) to the
Tupi-Guarani, and some (Mehinaku and Vaura) to the Arawak
family. Obviously these could not be so discriminated but for
their linguistic differences. On the other hand the opposite
phenomenon is occasionally presented of tribes differing con-
siderably in their social relations, which are nevertheless of the
same origin, or, what is regarded by Ehrenreich as the same
thing, belong to the same linguistic group. Such are the Ipurina,
the Paumari and the Yamamadi of the Purus valley, all grouped
as Arawaks because they speak dialects of the Arawakan stock
language. At the same time it should be noted that the social
differences observed by some modern travellers are often due
to the ever-increasing contact with the whites, who are now
encroaching on . the Gran Chaco plains, and ascending every
Amazonian tributary in quest of rubber and the other natural
produce abounding in these regions. The consequent displace-
ment of tribes is discussed by G. E. Church'.
In the introduction to his valuable list Clements Markham
observes that the evidence of language favours the theory that
the Amazonian tribes, "now like the sands on the sea-shore for
number, originally sprang from two or at most three parent
stocks. Dialects of the Tupi language extend from the roots
of the Andes to the Atlantic, ahd southward into Paraguay...
and it is established that the differences in the roots, between
the numerous Amazonian languages, are not so great as was
generally supposed'." This no doubt is true, and will account
for much. But when we see it here recorded that of the
Carabuyanas (Japura river) there are or were i6 branches, that
the Chiquito group (Bolivia) comprises 40 tribes speaking
"seven different languages" ; thatof the Juris (Upper Amazons)
there are ten divisions; of the Moxos (Beni and Mamor6 rivers)
26 branches, "speaking nine or, according to Southey, thirteen
languages " ; of the Uaupes (Rio Negro) 30 divisions, and so
on, we feel how much there is still left to be accounted for.
Attempts have been made to weaken the force of the linguistic
argument by the assumption, at one time much in favour, that
the American tongues are of a somewhat evanescent nature,
in an unstable condition, often changing their form and structure
' Aborigines of South America, 1912.
2 Lac. cit. p. 75.
x] The American Aborigines 349
within a few generations. But, says Powell, "this widely spread
opinion does not find warrant in the facts discovered in the
course of this research. The author has everywhere been
impressed with the fact that savage tongues are singularly per-
sistent, and that a language which is dependent for its existence
upon oral tradition is not easily modified^" A test case is the
Delaware (Leni Lenape), an Algonquian tongue which, judging
from the specimens collected by Th. Campanius about 1645,
has undergone but slight modification during the last 250 years.
In this connection the important point to be noticed is the
fact that some of the stock languages have an immense range,
while others are crowded together in indescribable confusion
in rugged upland valleys, or about river estuaries, or in the
recesses of trackless woodlands, and this strangely irregular
distribution prevails in all the main divisions of the continent.
Thus of Powell's 58 linguistic families in North America as
many as 40 are restricted to the relatively narrow strip of
coastland laetween the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, ten
are dotted round the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to the Rio
Grande, and two disposed round the Gulf of California, while
nearly all the rest of the land — some six million square miles-
is occupied by the six widely diffused Eskimauan, Athapascan,
Algonquian, Iroquoian, Siouan, and Shoshonian families. The
same phenomenon is presented by Central and South America,
where less than a dozen stock languages— Opatan, Nahuatlan,
Huastecan, Chorotegan, Quichuan, Arawfkan, Gesan (Ta-
puyan), Tupi-Guaranian, Cariban — are spread over millions
of square miles, while many scores of others are restricted to
extremely narrow areas. Here the crowding is largely deter-
mined, as in Caucasia, by the altitude (Andes in Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia ; Sierras in Mexico).
— — It is strongly held by many American ethnologists that the
various cultures of America are autochthonous, nothing being
borrowed from the Old World. J- W. PowelP, q^x<^^^_
who rendered such mesfiniaBIe services to Ameri-
can anthropology, affirmed that "the aboriginal peoples of
America cannot be allied preferentially to any one branch
of the human race in the Old World"; that "there is no
evidence that any of the arts of the American IngTaHs"'werie
borrowed from the Orient" ;_that "the industriaj arts of'^^
1 Indian Linguistic Families, p. 141.
2 "Whence came the American Indians?" Forum, Feb. 1898.
350 Man : Past and Present [ch.
were born in America, America was inhabited by tribes at the
time ot the begiTTningfoT industrial arts. They left the Old W orld
j BelBre" rheyhad learned to malce~lcnlves, spear and arrowheads,
Lor at least when they knew the art only in its crudest state.
Thus primitive man has been here ever since the invention of
the stone knife and the stone hammer." He further contended
- that "the American Indian did not derive his forms ot govern-
' ment, his industrial or decorative arts, his languages, or his
mythological opinions from the Old World, but developed them
in the New " ; and that " in the demotic characteristics of the
American Indians, all that is common to tribes of the Orient' is
universal, all that distinguishes one group of tribes from another
in America distinguishes them from all other tribes of the
world."
This view has been emphasised afresh by Fewkes\ though
of recent years it has met with vigorous opposition. At the
conclusion of his article "Die melanesische Bogenkultur und
ihre Verwandten'^" Graebner attempts to trace the cultural
connection of South America witEiSouth-east Asia rather than
witirtEre"SoutFi Seas,"tEemain liiiks beinglFepresented by head-
hunting, certain types of skin-drum and of basket, and in par-
ticular three types of crutch-handled paddle. According to him
the spread of culture has taken place by the land route and -
Behring Strait, not across the Pacific by way of the South Seas,
a view to which he adheres in his later work. _An ingenious
and detailed attenfpt has also been madeby Pater ^cmnldt'' to
tTace the variqua cultures determined for Oceania and Aficica
in South^,^Arneric,gu™^ Apart froni the great linguistic groups
UsuELHy adopted as the basis of classification, Schmidt would
divide the South American Indians according to their stage of
economic development into collectors, cultivators, and civilised
peoples of the Andean highlands. Though, this series may have
the appearance of evolution, in point of fact "each group is
composed of peoples differing absolutely in language and race,
who brought with them to South America in historically distinct
migrations at all events' the fundamentals of their respective
cultures As we pass in review the cultural elements of the
^ J. Walter Fewkes, "Great Stone Monuments in History and Geography,"
Pres. Add. Anthrop. Soc; Washington, 1912.
^ F. Graebner, Anthropos, iv. 1909, esp. pp. 1013-24. Cf. also his Ethnologie,
1914.
^ W. Schmidt, " Kulturkreise und Kulturschichten in SUdamerika," Zeitschrift
fiir Ethnologie, Jg. 45, 1913, p. 1014 ff.
-^1 The American Aborigines 351
separate groups, their weapons, implements, dwellings, their
sociology, mythology, and religion we discover the innate simi-
larity of these groups to the culture-zones of the Old World in
^ essential features'." The author proceeds to work-out his
theory in great detail ; the earlier cultures he too considers have
travelled by the enormously lengthy land route by way of North
America, only the "free patrilineal culture" (Polynesia and
Indonesia) having reached the west coast directiy by seal
W. H. Holmes* draws attention to analogies between"
American and 'foreign archaeological remains, for example the
stone gouge of New England and Europe. He hints at in-
fluences coming from the Mediterranean and even from Africa.
" Even more remarkable and diversified are the correspondences
between the architectural remains of Yucatan and those of
Cambodia and Java in the far East. On the Pacific side of the
American continent strange coincidences occur in like degree,"
seeming to indicate that the broad Pacific has not proved
a complete bar to intercourse of peoples of the opposing con-
tinents... it seems highly probable considering the nature of the
archeological evidence, that the Western World has not been
always and wholly beyond the reach of members of the white,
Polynesian, and perhaps even the black races."
Walter Hough* gives various cultural parallels between
America and the other side of the Pacific but does not commit
himself. S. Hagar' brings forward some interesting corre-
spondences between the astronomy of the New and of the Old
Worlds,, but adopts a cautious attitude.
More recently the problem has been attacked with great
energy by G. Elliot Smith". His investigations into the pro-
cesses of mummification and the tombs of ancient Egypt led
him to comparative studies, and he notes that certain customs
seem to be found in association, forming what is known as a
culture-complex. For example, " in most regions the people
who introduced the habit of megalithic building and sun worship
also brought with them the practice of mummification." Also
associated with these are : — stories of dwarfs and giants, belief
in the indwelling of gods and great men in megalithic monu-
^ Loc. cit. pp. 1020, 1021.
2 Ibid. p. 1093 ; cf. also p. 1098 where the Peruvian sailing balsa is traced to
Polynesia, sailing rafts being still used in the Eastern Paumotu islands.
3 Am. Anth. xiv. 1912, pp. 34-6.
* Loc. cit. p. 39. ^ Loc. cit. p. 43.
" G. Elliot Smith, The Migrations of Early Culture, 191 5.
352 Man : Past and Present [ch.
ments, the use of these structures in a particular manner for
special council, the practice of hanging rags on trees in asso-
ciation with such monuments, serpent worship, tattooing, dis-
tension of the lobe of the ear, the use of pearls, the conch-shell
trumpet, etc. In a map showing the distribution of this "helio-
lithic " culture-complex he indicates the main lines of migration
to America, one across the Aleutian chain and down the west
coast to California, the other and more important one, across
the Pacific to Peru, and thence to various parts of South
America, through Central America to the southern half of the
United States. Contrary to Schmidt, Elliot Smith postulates
contact of cultures rather than actual migrations of people ; he
considers it possible that a small number of aliens arriving by
sea in Peru, for example, might introduce customs of a highly
novel and subversive character which would take root and
spread far and wide. The Peruvian custom of embalming the
dead certainly presents analogiestothat of ancient Egypt,
and EllioT'SmitR^s cohvincedThn^^^'tB^^ archi-
tecture of America bears obvious evidence of the same in-
spiration which prompted that of the Old World." In a later
rpaper Elliot Smith' adduces further evidence in support of his
thesis " that the essential elements of the ancient civilization of
India, Further Asia, the Malay Archipelago, Oceania, and
America were brought in succession to each of these places by
mariners, whose oriental migrations (on an extensive scale)
began as trading intercourse between the Eastern Mediterranean
and India some time after 800 B.C. and continued for many
, centuries." This dissemination was in the first instance due to
the Phoenicians and there are "unmistakable tokens that the
same Phoenician methods which led to the diffusion of this
culture-complex in the Old World also were responsible for
, planting it in the New'' some centuries after the Phoenicians
themselves had ceased to be" (/. c. p. 27). Further evidence
along the same lines is offered by W. J. Perry' who has noted
the geographical distribution of terraced cultivation and irri-
gation and finds that it corresponds to a remarkable extent
with that of the "heliolithic" culture-complex, and43y J. Wilfrid
1 G. Elliot Smith, " The Influence.of Ancient Egyptian Civilization in the East
and in America," Bull, of the John Rylapds Library, Jany. — March, 1916, pp. 3, 4.
2 Cf. W. J. Perry, "The Relationship between the Geographical Distribution
of Megalithic Monuments and Ancient Mines," reprinted from Manchester Memoirs,
Vol. LX. (1915), pt. I.
^ W. J. Perry, Mem. and Proc. Manchester Lit. and Phil. Soc. LX. 1916, No. 6.
x] The American Aborigines 353
Jackson^ who has investigated the Aztec Moon-cult and its
relation to the Chank cult of India, the money cowry as a sacred
object among North American Indians^ shell trumpets and
their distribution in the Old and New World' and the geo-
graphical distribution of the shell purple industry ^ He points
out that we have ample evidence of the practice of this ancient
industry in several places in Central America, and refers
to Zelia Nuttall's interesting paper on the subject". ^ Elliot
Smith also discusses " Pre-Columbian Repre^ntadons of the
jcllepliant in America^ " 'anH~remarKs " coincidences of so re-
markable a nature cannot be due to chance. They not only_
confirm the identification of the elephant in designs in America, '
but also incidentally point to the conclusion that the Hindu god
Indra was adopted in Central America with practically all the
attributes assigned to him in his Asiatic home." Elliot Smith J
believes that practically every element of the early civilisation
of America was derived from the Old World. Small groups ,
of immigrants from time to time^irougHFcertain of the beliefs, '
customs, and inventions of the Mediterranean area, Egypt,
Ethiopia, Arabia, Babylonia, Indonesia, Eastern Asia and
Oceania, and theconfused jumble of practices became assimilated
and "Americanised" in the new home across the Pacific as the
result of the domination of the great uncultured aboriginal
populations by small bands of more cultured foreigners. These
highly suggestive studies will force adherents of the theory of
the indigenous origin of American culture to reconsider the
grounds for their opinions and will lead them to turn once more
to the writings of Bancroft', Tylor^ Nuttall', Macmillan Brown",
Enoch" and others.
There is no satisfactory scheme of classification of the
American peoples. Although there is a good deal of scattered
information about the physical anthropology of the /-.i jfi ^j
natives it has not yet been systematised and no
1 Loc. cit. No. 5. ^ Loc. cit. No. 4.
3 Loc. cit. No. 8. ^ Loc. cit. No. 7-
" Putnam Anniversary Volume, 1909, p. 365.
* Nature, Nov. 25 and Dec. 16, 191 5.
' H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America,
1875.
* E. B. Tylor, " On the game of PatoUi in Ancient Mexico and its probably
Asiatic origm," foum. Anthr. Inst. Vlll. 1878, p. 116. Rep. Brit. Ass. 1894, p. 774.
, 9 Zelia Nuttair, " The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civili-
sations," Arch, and Eth. Papers, Peabody Mus. Cambridge, Mass. n. 1901.
"• J. Macmillan Brown, Maori and Polynesian, 1907.
» C. R. Enoch, The Secret of the Pacific, 1912.
K. 23
354 Man: Past and Present [cH.
classification can at present be based thereon. A linguistic
classification is therefore usually adopted, but a geographical
or cultural grouping, or a combination of the two, has much
practical convenience. As Farrand' points out " It must never
be forgotten that the limits of physical, linguistic and cultural
groups do not correspond ; and the overlapping of stocks deter-
mined by those criteria is an unavoidable complication."
An inspection of the map of the distribution of linguistic
stocks of North America prepared by J. W. PowelP which
represents the probable state of affairs about
Clarification. ^5°° ^•^- shows that a few linguistic stocks have
a wide distribution while tlfere is a large number
of restricted stocks crowded along the Pacific slope. The
following are the better known tribes of the more important
stocks together with their distribution.
Eskimauani^^vvcio), along the Arctic coasts from 60° N. lat.
in the west, to 50° in the east. Athapascan, northern group,
D6n^ or Tinneh (including many tribes), interior of Alaska,
northern British Columbia and the Mackenzie basin, and the
Sarsi of south-eastern Alberta and northern Montana; southern
group, Navaho and Apache in Arizona, New Mexico and
northern Mexico ; the Pacific group, a small band in southern
British Columbia, others in Washington, Oregon and northern
California. Algonquian, south and west of Canada, the United
States east of the Mississippi, the whole valley of the Ohio,
and the states of the Atlantic coast. Blackfoot of Montana,
Alberta, south and further east, Cheyenne and Arapaho of
Minnesota. The main group of dialects is divided into the
Massachusett, Ojibway (Ojibway, Ottawa, Illinois, Miami, etc.)
and Cree types. The latter include the Cree, Montagnais,
Sauk and Fox, Menomini, Shawnee,, Abnaki, etc. Iroquoian,
in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec ; Hurons in the valley
of the St Lawrence and lake Simcoe. Neutral confederacy in
western New York and north and west of lake Erie. The
great confederacy of the Iroquois or "Five Nations" (Seneca,
Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Mohawk, to which the Tusca-
rora were added in 17 12) in central New York ; the Conestoga
and Susquehanna to the south. A southern group was located
in eastern Virginia and north Carolina, and the Cherokee,
centred in the southern Appalachians from parts of Virginia
^ Livingston Farrand, Basis of American History, 1904, pp. 88-9.
2 Tth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1885-6 (1891).
x] The American Aborigines 355
and Kentucky to northern Alabama. Muskhogeanoi Georgia,
Alabama and Mississippi, including the Choctaw, Chickasaw,
Creek, Seminole, etc. and the Natchez. There are several
small groups about the mouth of the Mississippi. Caddoan.
The earliest inhabitants of the central and southern plains
beyond the Missouri belonged to this stock, the largest group
occupied parts of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas,
it consists of the Caddo, Wichita, etc. and the Kichai, the
Pawnee tribes in parts of Nebraska and Kansas and an off-
shoot, the Arikara in North Dakota. Siouan, a small group in
Virginia, Carolina, Catawba, etc. and a very large group, practic-
ally occupying the basins of the Missouri and Arkansas, with
a prolongation through Wisconsin, where were the Winnebago.
The main tribes are the Mandan, Crow, Dakota, Assiniboin,
Omaha and Osage. Shoshonian of the Great Plateau and
southern California. The two outlying tribes were the Hopi
of north Arizona and the Comanche who ranged over the
southern plains. Among the plateau tribes are the Ute, Sho-
shoni, Mono and Luisefio. Yuman, from Arizona to Lower
California.
From the data available J. R. S wanton and R. B. Dixon
draw the following conclusions'. "It appears that the origin
of the tribes of several of our stocks may be referred
back to a swarming ground, usually of rather M^^ments.
indefinite size but none the less roughly indicated.
That for the Muskhogeans, including probably some of the
smaller southern stocks, must be placed in Louisiana, Arkansas
and perhaps the western parts of Mississippi and Tennessee,
although a few tribes seem to have cdme from the region of
the Ohio. That for the Iroquoians would be along the Ohio
and perhaps farther west, and that of the Siouans on the lower
Ohio and the country to the north including part at least of
Wisconsin. The dispersion area for the Algonquians was
farjther north about the Great Lakes and perhaps also the
St Lawrence, and that for the Eskimo about Hudson Bay or
between it and the Mackenzie river. The Caddoan peoples
seem to have been on the southern plains from earliest times.
On the north Pacific coast we have indications that the flow of
population has been from the interior to the coast. This seems
certain in the case of the Indians of the Chimmesayan stock
and some Tlinglit subdivisions. Some Tlinglit clans, however,
1 "Primitive American History," Am. Anth. xvi. 1914, pp. 410-11.
23—2
356 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Have moved from the neighbourhood of the Nass northward.
Looking farther south we find evidence that the coast Salish
have moved from the inner side of the coast ranges, while a
small branch has subsequently passed northward to the west
of it. The Athapascan stock in all probability has moved
southward, sending one arm down the Pacific coast, and a
larger body presumably through the Plains which reached as
far as northern Mexico. Most of the stocks of the Great
Plateau and of Oregon and California show little evidence of
movement, such indications as are present, however, pointing
toward the south as a rule. The Pueblo Indians appear to
have had a mixed origin, part of them coming from the north,
part from the south. In general there is to be noted a striking
contrast between the comparatively settled condition of those
tribes west of the Rocky mountains and the numerous move^^
ments, particularly in later times, of those to the east."
With regard to the Pacific coast Dixon' notes that it "has
apparently been occupied from the earliest times by peoples
differing but little in their culture from the tribes found in
occupancy in the sixteenth century. Cut off from the rest of
the country by the great chain of the Cordilleras and the in-
hospitable and arid interior plateaus, the tribes of this narrow
coastal strip developed in comparative seclusion their various
cultures, each adopted to the environment in which it was
found....
" In several of the ingenious theories relating to the develop-
ment and origin of American cultures in general, it has been
contended that considerable migrations both of peoples and of
cultural elements passed along this coastal highway from north
to south. If, however, the archaeological evidence is to be
depended on, such great sweeping movements, involving many
elements of foreign culture, could hardly have taken place, for
no trace of their passage or modifying effect is apparent We
can feel fairly sure that the prehistoric peoples of each area
were in the main the direct ancestors of the local tribes of
today. ...
"In comparison with the relative simplicity of the archaeo-
logical record on the Pacific coast, that of the eastern portion
of the continent is complex, and might indeed be best described
as a palimpsest. This complexity leads inevitably to the con-
1 Roland B. Dixon, Am. Antk. XV. 1913, pp, 538-9,
x] The American Aborigines 357
elusion that here there have been numerous and far-reaching
ethnic movements, resulting in a stratification of cultures."
W. H. Holmes has compiled a map marking the limits of
eleven areas which can be recognised by their archaeological
remains\ He points out that the culture units
are, as a matter of course, not usually well-defined. SsMcatfoa '
Cultures are bound toiover-lap and blend along the
borders and more especially along lines of ready communication.
In some cases evidence has been reported of early cultures
radically distinct from the type adopted as characteristic of the
areas, and ancestral forms grading into the later and into the
historic forms are thought to have been recognised. Holmes
frankly acknowledges the tentative character of the scheme,
which forms part of a synthesis that he is preparing of the
antiquities of the whole American continent.
North America is customarily divided into nine areas of
material culture, and though this is convenient, a more correct
method, as C. Wissler points out", is to locate
the respective groups of typical tribes as culture classification
centres, classifying the other tribes as intermediate
or transitional. The geograiphical stability of the material
culture centres is confirmed by archaeological evidence which
suggests that the striking individuality they now possess resulted
from a more or less gradual expansion along original lines.
The material cultures of these centres possess great vitality
and are often able completely to dominate intrusive cultural
unity. Thus tribes have passed from an intermediate state to
a typical, as when the Cheyenne were forced into the Plains
centre, and the Shoshonian Hopi adopted the typical Pueblo
culture. Wissler comes to the conclusion that "the location
of these centres is largely a matter of ethnic accident, but once
located and the adjustments made, the stability of the environ-
ment doubtless tends to hold each particular type of material
culture to its initial locality, even in the face of many changes
in blood and language." It is from his valuable paper that
the material culture traits of the following areas have been
obtained.
I, Eskimo Area. The fact that the Eskimo live by the!
sea and chietly upon sea food does not differentiate them from
1 "Areas of American culture characterization tentatively outlined as an aid in
the study of the Antiquities," Am. Anth. xvi. 1914, pp. 413-46.
2 Clark Wissler, " Material Cultures of the North American Indians," Am. Anth.
XVI. 1914, pp. 447-505-
r
L
358 Man : Past and Present' [ch.
Cthe tribes of the North Pacific coast, but they are distinguished
from the latter by the habit of camping in winter upon sea
Eskimo • ^^^ ^^^ Hving Upon seal, and in the summer upon
Material land animals. The kayak and "woman's boat," the
Culture. lamp, harpoon, float, woman's knife, bowdrill, snow
goggles, trussed-bow, and dog traction are almost universal.
The type of winter shelter varies considerably, but the skin
tent is general in summer and the snow house, as a more
or less permanent winter house, prevails east of Point
Barrow.
[^ -^ The mode of life of all the Eskimo, as F. Boas^ has pointed
out, is fairly uniform and depends on the distribution of food
at the different seasons. The migrations of game compel the
natives to move their habitations frqm_tjme to time, and as
fKe" inhospitable country "does not produce _j/e'^f^ion to~an
extent sufficient to support human life they areToreeajtooTepend
entirely upon animal food. The abundance ofsealsi n Aretie
'America enables man to v^ithstand the inclemency of the climate
and the sterility of the soil. The skins of seals furnish the
materials for summer garments and for the tent, their flesh is
almost their only food, and their blubber their indispensable
fuel during the long dark winter when they live in solid snow
.-houses. When the ice breaks up in the spring the Eskimo
establish their settlements at the head of the fiords where
salmon are easily caught. When the snow on the land has
melted in July the natives take hunting trips inland in order
to obtain ihe precious skins of the reindeer, or of the musk-ox,
of whose heavy pelts the winter garments are made. Walrus
and the ground seal also arrive and birds are found in abun-
t dance and eaten raw.
The Eskimo^ occupy more than 5000 miles of sea-board
from north-east Greenland to the mouth of the Copper river
in western Alaska. Many views have been ad-
Affinities"'^ vanced as to the position of their centre of dis-
persion ; most probably it lay to the west of
E Hudson Bay. Rink' is of opinion that they originated as a
distinct people in Alaska, where they developed an Arctic
1 "'
'The Central Eskimo," bthAnn. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1884-5 (1888), p. 419.
^ The name is said to come from the Abnaki Esquiniantsic, or from Ashkimeq^
the Ojibway equivalent; meaning "eaters of raw flesh." They call themselves
Innuit, meaning " people."
2 H. Rinl^ " The Eskimo Tribes, their Distribution and Characteristics," Med-
delelser om GrSnland, II. 1887.
x] The American Aborigines 359
culture ; but Boas' regards them "as, comparatively speaking^
new arrivals in Alaska, which they reached from the east.^
A westward movement is supported by myths and customs, 1
and by the affinities of the Eskimo with northern Asiatics. 1'
.There was always hostility between the Eskimo and the North
American Indians, which, apart from their very specialised I
mode of life, precluded any Eskimo extension southwards. '
The expansion of the Eskimo to Greenland is explained by
Steensby^" as follows : — the main southern movement would
have followed the west coast from Melville Bay, rounded the
southern point and proceeded some distance up the east coast.
From the Barren Grounds north-west of Hudson Bay the
Polar Eskimo followed the musk-ox, advanced due north to
Ellesmere Land, then crossed to Greenland, and, still hunting
the musk-ox, advanced along the north coast and down the
east coast towards Scoresby Sound. Another line of migration
apparently started from the vicinity of Southampton Island
and pursued the reindeer northwards into Baffin Land ; on
reaching Ponds Inlet these reindeer-hunting Eskimo for the
most part turned along the east coast.
Physically the Eskimo constitute a distinct type. They
are of medium staturd, but possess uncommon si^ength and
endurance ;. their skin is~TigEF" brownish yellow
with a ruddy tint on the exposed parts ; hands xvpe"^'
^d teet are small and well formed ; their heads
are high, with broad faces, and narrow high noses, and eyes
of a Mongolian" character. But great varieties are founa iriT
^fferent parts of the vast area over which they range™TKe~
Polar Eskimoof Greenland, studied by Steensby, were more
of American Indian than of Asiaticjygg,'. Of their psychology
tKis writer says, " For the Polar Eskimos life is deadly real
and sober, a__constaniLstrjyjng Xor food^ Ts
borne with good humour, and all dispensations are accepted as
natural consequences, about which it is of no use to reason or
complam." ' The hard struggle for existence has not per-
mItf^3The Polar Eskimo to become other than a confirmed
egoist, who knows nothing of disinterestedness. Towards his
enemies he is crafty and deceitful — he does not attack them,
1 F. Boas, "Ethnological Problems in Canada,'' yo«rK. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL.
1910, p. 529.
2 H. P. Steensby, " Contributions to the Ethnology and Anthropogeography of
the Polar Eskimos," Meddelelser om Gronland, xxxiv. 1910.
3 H. P. Steensby, /i7<r. «V. p. 384.
360 Man : Past and Present [cH.
openly, but indulges in backbiting.... It is only during;- the hunt
ptnata common interest and a common danger engender a
Ldeeper feeling of comradeship^"
Still less Mongolian in type are the '_'_blorid Eskimo " re-
cently encountered by Stefdnsson in south-west Victoria Island^ .
who are regarded by him as very possibly the mixed descen-
dants of Scandinavian ancestors who had drifted there from
west Greenland. It is known that Eric the Red discovered
Greenland in the year 982 and that 3 years later settlers went
there from the Norse colony in Iceland.
The winter snow houses, which are about 1 2 X i s ft. in
diameter arid "12 ft. high, usually with annexes, are always
"s"ci 1 Life °£P.!ffi.i^^,. t*y ^wo families, each, wom.ari_hajiing
her own lamp and sitting on the ledge in front
of it. If more families join in making a snow house, they
make two main rooms. Whenever it is possible the men spend
the short ^days in hunting and each woman prepares the food
for her husband. The long nights are mainly spent in various
recreations. The social life in the summer settlement is some-
what different. The families do not cook their own meals,
but a single one suffices for'the whole settlement. The day
before it is her turn to cook the womcin goes to the hills to
fetch enough shrubs for the fire. When a meal is. ready the
master of the house calls out aiud everybody comes out of his
tent with a knife, the men sit in one <;ircle and the women_in
another. These dinner^wbich are always held in the evening,
'are~almdSt always enlivened by a mimic performance. The
great religious feasts take place just before the beginning of
winter.
There are three forrns of social gfouping : the Family,
House-mates, and Place-mates. ( iT TheTamilv consists of
a man, his wife or wives, their children^d adopted children ;
wiHows'and their children may be adopted, but the "woman
.. retains her own fireplace. Somejtimes men are adopted, such
as bachelors without any relatives, cripples, or iriipoverisKed
jmen. "Jointjownership and use of a boat and house, and common
labour and toil in obtaining the means of support define the
real community of the family. (2) House-mates are families
that join together to build and occupy and rnauaJalBlthe same
house. This form of establishment is especially common „in_,
^ Loc. cit. pp. 366, 376.
■'' V. Stefdnsson, My life with the Eskimo,. 1913, p. 194 ff.
x] The American Aborigines 361
Greenland, but each family l<;eeps its separate establishment
inside the common house, (3) Place-fellows. The inhabi--
tants of the same Kanilet or winter establishment form one
community although no chief is elected or authority acknow-,
ledged.
Generally children are betrothed when very young. The
newly married pair usually live at first with the wife's family.
Both polygyny and polyandry occur. A man may lend or
exchange his wife for a whole season or longer, as a sign of
friendship. On certain occasions it^is^ even ^commanded by:^
religious law. There is no government, buFThere is a kind of '
chief in the settlement, though his authority is very limited. \
He is called the " pimajn," i.e. he who knows everything best J
He decides the proper time to shift the huts from one place
to another, he may ask some men to go sealing, others to go
deer hunting, but there is not the slightest obligation to obey
him. The men in a community may form themselves into an
informal council for the regulation of affairs. The decorative
art of the Eskimo is not remarkably developed, but thepictoriaj
art consists of clever sketches of everyday scenes and there is
a well developed plastic art^ Many of the carvings are toys
and are made for the pleasure of the work. " The religious
views and practices of the Eskimo while, on the whole, alike
in their fundamental traits, show a considerable amount of
differentiation in the extreme east and in the extreme west.
It would seem that the characteristicL-tr^its of shamanism. are.,
common to all the Eskimo~tri^s. The art of the shaman
(ahgakok) is~acquired by tHeacquisition of guardian spirits....
Besides the spirits which may become guardian spirits of men,"
the Eskimo believes in a great many others which are hostile
and bring disaster and death.... The ritualistic development of_
Eskimo religion is very slight'."
n. Mackenzie Area. Skirting the Eskimo area is a belt
of semi-Arctic lands almost cut in two by Hudson Bay. To
the west are the D^nd tribes, who are believed •okak:
to fall into three culture groups, an eastern group. Material
Yellow Knives, Dog Rib, Hares, Slavey, Chi- Culture,
pewyan and Beaver; a south-western group, Nahane, Sekani,
Babine and Carrier ; and a north-western group, comprising
the Kutchin, Loucheux, Ahtena and Khotana. The material
1 F. Boas, "The 'E.s^a.mo," Annual Archaeological Report, iqo^, Toronto (1906),
p. 112 ff.
362 Man : Past and Present [ch.
culture of the south-western group is deduced from the writings
of Father Morice\ AU^the tribes are hunters of large or small
game, caribou are often driven into enclosures, small ga,me
teKen in snares or tra^ ; various kinds of fish are largeTy used,
and a few of the tribes on"tEe head, wafers oF'tlTe Facmc take
salmon ; large use of berries is made, they are mashed and
dried by a special process ; edible roots and other vegetable
foods are used to some extent ; utensils ar-e of wood and park ;
there is no pottery ; bark vessels are used for "Boilmg witii'or
without stones ; travel in summer is largely by canoe, in winter
by snowshoe ; dog sleds are used to some extent, but chiefly
since trade days, the toboggan form prevailing ; clothing is_qf
skins ; mittens and caps are y.Q,};j;i ; there is no weaving except
rabbit-skin garments, but fine network occurs on sndwsh^s,
bags, and fish nets, materials being of bark fibre, smew and
babiche ; there is also a special form of wovenouill work ; the
typical habitation seemstb be the double lean-to, though many
intrusive forms occur ; other material culture traits include the
making of fish-hooks and spears ; a limited use of copper ;,
and poorly developed. work m siiaije,
— The physical characteristics vary very much from tribe to
tribe. The Sekani, according to Morice, are slender and bony,
in stature rather below the average, with a nar-
Type. "^^ forehead, hollow cheeks, prominent cheek-
bones, small eyes deeply sunk in their orbit, the
upper lip very thin and the lower somewhat protruding, the
chin very small and the nose straight. 'The Carriers, on the
contrary, are tall and stout, without as a rule being too cor-
Wpulent. The men average i '66 m. in height. Their forehead
is much broader than that of the Sekani, and less receding
than is usual with American aborigines. The face is full, and;
the nose aquiline. All the tribes are remarkably unwarlike,
timid, and even cowardly. Weapons are seldom used and in
j personal combat, which consists in a species of Wrestling,,
'knives are previously laid aside. The fear of enemies is a
marked feature, due in part, doubtless, to traditional recollection
of the raids of earlier days. Their honesty is noted by all
travellers. Morice records th^t among the Sekani a trader
will sometimes go on a trapping expedition, leaving his store
^ A. G. Morice, "Notes on the Western D^nds," Trans. Canadian Inst. iv. 1895 ;
"The Western Ddnds," Proc. Canadian Inst. xxv. (3rd Series, VII.) 1890;. "The
Canadian D^n^s," Ann. Arch. Rep. 1905 (1906), p. 187.
x] The American Aborigines 363
unlocked, without fear of any of its contents going amissTl
Meantime a native may call in his absence, help himself to as
much powder and shot or any other item as he may need, but 1
he will never fail to leave there an exact equivalent in furs. — i
The eastern Den6 are nomad hunters who gather berries
and roots, while the western are semi-sedentary, living for
most of the year in villages when they subsist „ . . , .,
largely on salmon. The former are patrilineal
and the latter are grouped into matrilineal exogamic totemic
clans. The headmen of the clans formed a class of privileged
nobles who alone owned the hunting grounds. Morice speaks
of clan, honorific and personal totems. The first two were
adopted from coastal tribes, the honorific was assumed by some
individuals in order to attain a rank to which they were not
entitled by heredity. The "personal totem" is the guardian
spirit or genius, the belief in which is common to nearly all
North American peoples. Shamanism prevails throughout
the area. The mythology almost always refers to a " Trans-
former " who visited the world when incomplete and set things
in order. They have the custom of the potlatch\ If a man
desires another man's wife he can challenge the husband to a
wrestling match, the winner keeps the woman ^
1 1 J. North Pacific Coast Area. This culture is rather
complex with tribal variations, but it can be treated under
three subdivisions, a northern group, Tlingit, jj pacific
Haida and Tsimshian ; a central group, the Coast : Material
Kwakiutl tribes and the Bellacoola ; and a south- C""""^^-
ern group, the Coast Salish, Nootka, Chinook, Kalapooian,
Waiilatpuan, Chimakuan and some Athapascan tribes. The
first of these seem to be the type and are characterised by :
the great dependence upon sea food, some hunting upon the
mainland, large use of berries (dried fish, clams and berries
are the staple food) ; cooking with hot stones in boxes and
baskets ; large rectangular gabled houses of upright cedar
planks with carved posts and totem poles ; travel chiefly by
water in large seagoing dug-out canoes some of which had
1 From the Nootka viorA potlatsh, "giving" or "a gift," so called because these
great winter ceremonials were especially marked by the giving away of quantities
of goods, commonly blankets. CF. J. R. Swanton in Handbook of American
Indians (F. W. Hodge, editor), 1910. . . , , ,
2 Besides C. Wissler, loc. at. p. 457 and A. G. Monce, loc. at., cf. J. Jette,
Joum. Roy. Anthr.Insi. xxxvii. 1907, p. 1 57 ; C. Hill-Tout, British North America,
1907 ; and G. T. Emmons, " The Tahltan Indians," Anthr. Pub. University of Penn-
sylvania, IV. I, 191 1.
L^
364 Man : Past and Present [ch.
sails ; no pottery nor stone vessels, except mortars ; baskets
in checker, those in twine reaching a high state of excellence
among the Tlingit ; coil basjketry not made ; mats of cedar
bark and soft bags in abundance ; no true loom, the warp
hanging from a bar and weaving with the fingers downwards ;
clothing rather scanty, chiefly of skin, a wide basket hat (the
only one of the kind on the continent, apparently for protection
against rain) ; feet usually bare, but skin moccasins and leggings
occasionally made ; for weapons the bow, club and a peculiar
dagger, no lances ; slat, rod and skin armour ; wooden helmets,
no shields ; practically no chipped stone tools, but nephrite
or green stone used ; wood Work highly developed ; work in
copper possibly aboriginal but, if so, weakly developed. The
central group differs in a few minor points ; twisted and loosely
woven bark or wool takes the place of skins for clothing and
baskets are all in checkerwork. Among the southern group
appears a strong tendency to use stone arrowheads, and a
peculiar flat club occurs, vaguely similar to the New Zealand
type\
Physically the typical North Pacific tribes are of medium
stature, with long arms and short bodies. Among the northern
branches the stature averages i "675 m. (5 ft. 6 in.),
Type!*^* the head is very large with an average index ot
82 "5. The face is very broad, the nose concave
or straight, seldom convex, with slight elevation. Among the
southern tribes, notably the Kwakiutl; the stature averages
1-645 m. (5 ft. 4f in.), the cephalic index is 84-5, the face very
broad but also of great length, the nose very high, rather
narrow and frequently convex.
The social relations of these peoples vary from tribe to
tribe, but on the whole they fall into a sequence from north to
Social Life. so^th. In the northern portion descent is matri-
lineal, but patrilineal in the south. J. G. Frazer
does not accept the view of Boas " that the Northern Kwa-
kiutl have borrowed both the rule of maternal descent and the
division into totemic clans from their more northerly neighbours
of alien stocks ; in other words, that totemism and mother-kin
have spread southward among a people who had father-kin
and no totemic system^" He inclines "to the other view,
formerly favoured by Boas himself, namely, that the Kwa-
' C. Wissler, /of. cit. p. 454.
^ J. G. Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, m. 1910, p. 319.
x] The American Aborigines 365
kiutl are in a stage of transition from mother-kin to father-
kin\"
Each village is autonomous and originally may have been
restricted to a single totem clan. The population is divided
into three ranks, nobles, common people and a low caste con-
sisting of poor people and serfs who cannot participate in the
secret societies. I n addition there is a totemic grouping. There
may be several totemic clans in one village and the same totem
may not only occur in every village, but may extend from one
tribe to another. This suggests that there were originally two,
or in some cases more than two, totemic clans which in process
of time became subdivided into sub-clans; these, while retaining
the crest of the original clan, acquired fresh ones, and the families
contained in each sub-clan may have their special crest or crests
in addition. New crests and names are constantly being in-
troduced. Marriage is forbidden between people of the same
crest, irrespective of the tribe. The natives according to Boas
do not consider themselves descendants from their totem. A
wife brings her father's position, crest and privileges as a dower
to her husband, who is not allowed to use them himself, but
acquires them for the use of his son, in other words this in-
heritance is in the female line.
The widely spread American custom of a youth acquiring
a guardian spirit is far more prevalent among tKe southern
section than the northern, but among the Kwakiutl he can only
obtain as his patron, one or more of a limited number of spirits
which are hereditary in his clan. In the northern tribes the
secret societies are coextensive with the totemic clans ; among
the Kwakiutl they are connected with guardian spirits and it
is significant that during the summer, when the people are
scattered, society is based on the old clan system, but when
the people live together in villages in the winter, society is
reorganised on the basis of the secret societies. There is a
highly developed system of barter of which the blanket is now
the unit of value, formerly the units were elk-skins, canoes or
slaves. Certain symbolic objects have attained fanciful values.
A vast credit system has grown up based on the. custom of
loaning property at high interest, at the great festivals called
"potlatch" and by it the giver gains great honour. The re-
ligion is closely related to the totemic beliefs ; supernatural aid
1 Loc. cit. p. 333.
366 Man: Past and Present [ch.
is given by the spirits to those who win their favour. The
raven is the chief figure in the mythology ; he regulates the
phenomena of nature, procures fire, daylight, and fresh water,
and teaches men the arts.
To the south, and extending inland to the divide, forming
a much less characteristic group are the Salish or Flat-heads
who are allied to the Athapascans. The coastal Salish assimilate
the culture just described, but the plateau Salish are more
democratic, less settled and more individualistic in religious
matters^ The Chinooks or Flat-heads of the lower reaches of
the Columbia river are nearly extinct. They deformed the
heads of infants. These tribes and the Shahapts or Nez Percys
are differentiated by garments of raw hides, cranial deformation,
absence of tattooing and plain bows, but they still have com-
munal houses though without totem posts. They cook by means
of heated stones and have zoomorphic masks".
IV. Plateau Area. The Plateau area lies between the
North Pacific Coast area and the Plains. It is far less uniform
Plateau Area: ^'^'^ either in its topography, the south being a
Material veritable desert while the north is moist and
Culture. fertile. The traits may be summarised as : ex-
tensive use of salmon, deer, roots (especially camas) and berries ;
the use of a handled digging stick, cooking with hot stones in
holes and baskets ; the pulverisation of dried salmon and roots
for storage ; winter houses, semi-subterranean, a circular pit
with a conical roof and smoke hole entrance ; summer houses,
movable or transient, mat or rush-covered tents and the lean-
to, double and single ; the dog sometimes used a,s a pack
animal ; water transportation weakly developed, crude dugrouts
and bark canoes being used ; pottery not known ; basketry
highly developed, coil, rectangular shapes, imbricated technique ;
twine weaving in flexible bags and mats ; some simple weaving
of bark fibre for clothing ; clothing for the entire body usually
of deerskins ; skin caps for the men, and in some cases basket
caps for women ; blankets of woven rabbit-skin ; the sinew-
backed bow prevailed ; clubs, lances, and knives, and rod and
slat armour were used in war, also heavy leather shirts ; fish
spears, hooks, traps and bag nets were used ; dressing of deer-
skins highly developed ; upright stretching frames and straight
^ See p. 367.
2 F. Boas, Brit. Ass. Reports, 1885-98; Social Organisation of the Kwakiutl
Indians, 1897; A. P. Niblack, "The Coast Indians," U.S. Nat. Mus. Report, \%()i.
x] The AmericcCn Aborigines 367
long handled scrapers ; wood work more advanced than among
Plains tribes, but insignificant compared to North Pacific Coast
area ; stone work confined to the making of tools and points,
battering and flaking; work in bone, metal, and feathers very
weak\
Of the tribes of this area, the interior Salish, the Thompson,
Shushwap and Lillooet, appear to be the most typical of those
concerning which any information is available.
The Shahapts or Nez Percys, and the Shoshoni SU°*^"°'
show some marked Plains traits. " The interior
Salish are landsmen and hunters, and from time immemorial
have been accustomed to follow their game over mountainous
country. This mode of life has engendered among them an
active, slender, athletic type of men ; they are considerably
taller and possess a much finer physique than their congeners
of the coastal region, who are fishermen, passing the larger
portion of their time on the water squatting in their canoes,
never walking to any place if they can possibly reach it by
water. The typical coast Salish are a squat thick-set people,
with disproportionate legs and bodies, slow and heavy in their
movements, and as unlike their brothers of the interior as it
is possible for them to be"."
The Thompsons represented the Salish at their highest
and best, both morally and physically, and their ethical precepts
and teaching set a very high standard of virtue before the
advent of the Europeans. Hill-Tout says that receptiveness
and a wholesale adoption of foreign fashions and customs are
their striking qualities, and "if they have fallen away from
these high standards, as we fear they have; the fault is not
theirs but ours We assumed a grave responsibility when we
undertook to civilise these races'."
The simplest form of social organisation is found among
the interior hunting tribes, where a state of pure anarchy may
1 For this area consult J. Teit, " The Thompson Indians of British Columbia,''
" The Lillooet Indians," and " The Shushwap," in Memoirs, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.
Vol. II. 4, 1900; Vol. IV. 5, 1906 ; and Vol. IV. 7, 1909 ; F. Boas, " The Salish Tribes
of the Interior of British Columbia," Ann. Arch. Rep. 1905 (Toronto, 1906);
C. Hill- Tout, "The Salish Tribes of the Coast and Lower Fraser Delta," Ann.
Arch. Rep. 1905 (Toronto, 1906); H. J. Spinden, "The Nez Percys Indians,"
Memoirs, Am. Anth. Ass. 11. 3, 1908; R. H. Lowie, "The Northern Shoshone,"
Anth. Papers, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. II. 2, 1908; A. B. Lewis, "Tribes of the
Cohambia Valley," etc., Memoirs, Am. Anth. Ass. I. 2, 1906.
2 C. Hill-Tout, British North America, igoj, p. 37.
3 Loc. cit. p. 50.
368 Man: Past and Present [ch.
be said to have formerly prevailed, each family being a law
unto itself and acknowledging no authority save
Social Or- ^ <^ f j^^g ^^^ elderman. Each local com-
gamsation. . ,
munity was composed 01 a greater or less number
of these self-ruling families. There was a kind of headship or
nominal authority given to the oldest and wisest of the elder-
men in some of the larger communities, where occasion called
for it or where circumstances arose in which it became necessary
to have a central representative. This led in some centres to
the regular appointing of local chiefs or heads whose business
it was to look after the material interest of the commune over
which they presided ; but the office was always strictly elective
and hedged with manifold limitations as to authority and
privilege. For example, the local chief was not necessarily
the head of all undertakings. He would not lead in war or
the chase unless he happened to be the best hunter or the
bravest and most skilful warrior among them ; and he was
subject to deposition at a moment's notice if his conduct did
not meet with the approval of the elders of the commune.
His office or leadership was therefore purely a nominal one.
All hunting, fishing, root, and berry grounds were common
property and shared in by all alike In one particular tribe
even the food was held and meals were taken in common, the
presiding elder or headman calling upon a certain family each
day to provide and prepare the meals for all the rest, every one,
more or less, taking it in turn to discharge this social duty'.
V. Californian Area. Of the four sub-culture areas noted
by Kroeber"'' the central group is the most extensive and typical.
CaUfornia: ^^^ main characteristics are : acorns as the chief
Material vegetable food, supplemented , by wild seeds.
Culture. while roots and berries are scarcely used ; the
acorns are made into bread by a roundabout process ; hunting
is mostly of small game, fishing wherever possible ; the houses
are of many forms, all simple shelters of brush or tule, or more
substantial conical lean-to structures of poles ; the dog was not
used for packing and there were no canoes, but rafts of tule
were used for ferrying; no pottery but high development of
basketry both coil and twine ; bags and mats scanty ; cloth or
' Loc. cit. pp. 158-9.
^ A. L. Kroeber, "Types of Indian Culture in California," University of Cali-
fornia Publications Am. Arch. andEth. ll. 3, 1904; cf. also the special anthropological
publications of the University of California.
x} The American Aborigines 369
other weaving of simple elements not known ; clothing simple
and scanty ; feet usually bare ; the bow the only weapon, usually
sinew-backed ; work in skins, wood, bone etc., weak, in metals
absent, in stone work not advanced. In the south modifications
enter with large groups of Yuman and Shoshonian tribes where
pottery, sandals and wooden war clubs are intrusive. The
extinct Santa Barbara were excellent workers in stone, bone
and shell, and made plank canoes.
Topographical variation produces consequent changes in
mode of life as the well watered and wooded country of Oregon
and Northern California gradually merges into ■ 1 r-f
the warm dry climate of South California with
decreasing moisture towards tbe tropics. As Kroeber says',
" From the time of the first settlement of California, its Indians
have been described as both more primitive and more peaceful
than the majority of the natives of North America.-... The
practical arts of life, the social institutions and the ceremonies
-of the Californian Indians areunusuallysimpleandundeveloped.
There was no war for its own sake, no confederation of powerful
tribes, no communal stone pueblos, no totems, or potlatches.
The picturesqueness and the dignity of the Indians are lacking.
In general rudeness of culture the Californian Indians are
scarcely above the Eskimo.... If the degree of civilisation at-
tained by people depends in any large measure on their habitat,
as does not seem likely, it might be concluded from the case
of the Californian Indians that natural advantages were an
impediment rather than an incentive to progress It is possible
to speak of typical Californian Indians and to recognise a typical
Californian culture area. A feature that should not be lost
sight of is the great stability of population The social or-
ganisation was both simple and loose Beyond the family the
only bases of organisation were the village and the language."
In so simple a condition of society difference of rank naturally
found but little scope. The influence of chiefs was compara-
tively small, and distinct classes, as of nobility or slaves, were
unknown. I ndividual property rights were developed and what
organisation of society there was, was largely on the basis of
property. The ceremonies are characterised by a very slight
development of the extreme ritualism that is so characteristic
of the American Indians, and by an almost entire absence of
* Loc. cit. p. 81 ff.
K. 24
37© Man: Past and Present [ch.
symbolism of any kind. Fetishism is also unusual. One set
of ceremonies was usually connected with a secret religious
society ; during initiation members were disguised by feathers
and paint, but masks were not worn. There was also an annual
tribal spectacular ceremony held in remembrance of the dead.
In the north-west portion of the state a somewhat more highly
developed and specialised culture existed which has some
affinities with that of the north-west tribes, as is indicated by
a greater advance in technology, a social organisation largely
upon a property basis and a system of mythology that is sug-
gestive of those further north. The now extinct tribes of the
Santa Barbara islands and adjacent mainland were more ad-
vanced. They alone employed a plank-built canoe instead of
the balsas or canoe-shaped bundles of rushes of the greater
part of California. , They made stone bowls and did inlaid work.
Like the North Galifornians and tribes further north they
buried instead of burning their dead. The eastern tribes shade
off into their neighbours. The Luiseno, the southernmost of
the Shoshonians, had puberty rites for girls and boys\ The
belief in a succession of births " is reminiscent of Oceanic and
Asiatic ways of thought^" [About] 1788 a secret cult arose
inculcating, with penalties, obedience, fasting, and self-sacrifice
on initiates I
VI. Plains Area. The chief traits of this culture are the
dependence upon the bison (" buffalo ") and the very limited
Plains Area: use of roots and berries ; absence of fishing ; lack
Material of agriculture ; the tipi or tent as the movable,
Culture. dwelling and transportation by land only, with
the dog and the travois (in historic times, with the horse) ; no
baskets, pottery, or true weaving ; clothing of bison and deer-
skins ; there is high development of work in skins and special
bead technique and raw-hide work (parfleche, cylindrical bag
etc.), and weak development of work in wood, stone and bone.
This typical culture is manifested in the Assiniboin, Arapaho,
Blackfoot, Crow, Cheyenne, Comanche, Gros Ventre, Kiowa,
Kiowa- Apache, Sarsi and Teton- Dak ota^ Among the tribes
* P. S. Spartman, University of California Publications, Am. Arch, and Eth.
VIII. 1908, p. 221 ff. ; A. L. Kroeber,, "Types of Indian Culture in California," ibid.
11. 1904, p. 81 fE
^ A. L. Kroeber, ibid. VIII. 1908, p. 72.
' C. G. DuBois,. " The Religion of the Luisenoi Indians," torn, cit p. 73 ff.
* Dakota is the name of the largest division of the Siouan linguistic family,
commonly called Sioux ; Santee, Yankton and Teton constituting, with the Assini-
boin, the four main dialects.
x] The American Aborigines 371
of the eastern border a limited use of pottery and basketry
may be added, some spinning and weaving of bags, and rather
extensive agriculture. Here the tipi alternates with larger and
more permanent houses covered with grass, bark or earth, and
there was some attempt at water transportation. These tribes
are the Arikara, Hidatsa, Iowa, Kansa, Mandan, Missouri,
Omaha, Osage, Oto, Pawnee, Ponca, Santee- Dakota', Yankton-
Dakota^ and Wichita.
On the western border other tribes (Wind River Shoshoni,
Uinta and Uncompahgre Ute) lack pottery but produce a
rather high type of basketry, depending far less on the bison
but more on deer and small game, making large use of wild
grass seeds.
On the north-eastern border the Plains- Ojib way and Plains-
Cree combine many traits of the forest hunting tribes with
those found in the Plains.
The Dakota or Sioux are universally conceded to be of
the highest type, physically, mentally and probably morally of
any of the western tribes. Their bravery has
never been questioned by white or Indian and (siouxf °
they conquered or drove out every rival except
the Ojibway. Their physical characteristics are as follows :
dark skin faintly tinged with red, facial features more strongly
marked than those of the Pacific Coast Indians, nose and lower
jaw particularly prominent and heavy, head generally meso-
cephalic and not artificially deformed. They are a free and
dominant race, of hunters and warriors, necessarily strong and
active. Their weapons of stone, wood, bone and horn are toma-
hawk, club, flint knife, and bow and arrow. All their habits
centre in the bison, which provided the staple materials of
nutrition and industry. Drawing and painting were done on
prepared bison skins and elaborately carved pipes were made
for ceremonial use.
They are divided into kinship groups, with inheritance as
a rule in the male line. The woman is autocrat of the home.
Exogamy was strictly enforced in the clan but marriage within
the tribe or with related tribes was encouraged. The marriage
was arranged by the parents and polygyny was common where
means would permit. Government consisted in chieftainship
acquired by personal merit, and the old men exercised con-
siderable influence.
> See note 4, p. 370.
24 — 2
372 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Religious conceptions were based on a belief in Wakonda
or Manito^, an all-pervading spirit force, whose cult involved
various shamanistic ceremonials consisting of
eigion. dancing, chanting, feasting and fasting. Most
distinctive of. these is the Sun dance, practised by almost all
the tribes of the plains except the Comanche. It is an annual
festival lasting several days, in honour of the sun, for the
purpose of obtaining abundant produce throughout the
year.
The Sun dance was not only the greatest ceremony of the
Plains tribes but was a condition of their existence. More than
any other ceremony or occasion, it furnished the
Dance ° tribe the opportunity for the expression of emotion
in rhythm, and was the occasion of the tribe be-
coming more closely united. It gave opportunity for the making
and renewing of common interests, the inauguration of tribal
policies, and the renewing of the rank of the chiefs ; for the
exhibition, by means of mourning feasts, of grief over the loss
of members of families ; for the fulfilment of social obligations
by means of feasts ; and, finally, for the exercise and gratifica-
tion of the emotions of love on the part of the young in the
various social dances which always formed an interesting feature
of the ceremony ^
Being strongly opposed by the missionaries because it was
utterly misunderstood^ and finding no favour in official circles,
the Sun dance has been for many years an object of persecution,
and in consequence is extinct among the Dakota, Crows, Man-
dan, Pawnee, and Kiowa, but it is still performed by the Cree,
Siksika (Blackfoot), Arapaho, Cheyenne, Assiniboin, Ponca,
Shoshoni and Ute, though in many of these tribes its disap-
pearance is near at hand, for it has lost part of its .rites and
' Wakonda is the term employed "when the power believed to animate all ,
natural forms is spoken to or spoken of in supplications or rituals" by many tribes
of the Siouan family. Manito is the Algonquian name for "the mysterious and
unknown potencies and powers of life and of the universe." " Wakonda" says
Miss Fletcher, " is difficult to define, for exact terms change it from its native un-
crystallized condition to something foreign to aboriginal thought. Vg.gue as the
concept seems to be to one of another race, to the Indian it is as real and as
mysterious as the starry night or the flush of the coming day," " Handbook of
American Indians" (ed. F. W. Hodge), Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. 30, 1907.
2 See G. A. Dorsey, " Handbook of American Indians " (ed. F. W. Hodge),
Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. 30, 1907.
^ G. B. Grinnell points out that the personal torture often associated with the
ceremonies has no connection with them, but represents the fulfilment of individual
vows. "The Cheyenne Medicine Lodge," Am. Anth. XVI. 1914, p. 245.
x] The American Aborigines 373
has become largely a spectacle for gain rather than a great
religious ceremony'.
The Pawnee do not differ at all widely from the Dakota,
but have a somewhat finer cast of features. They are more
given to agriculture, raising crops of maize, pump- . ^^^^
kins, etc. The Pawnee type of hut is characteristic,
consisting of a circular framework of poles or logs, covered
with brush, bark and earth. Their religious ceremonies were
connected with the cosmic forces and the heavenly bodies.
The dominating power was Tirawa generally spoken of as
" Father." The winds, thunder, lightning and rain were his
messengers. Among the Skidi the morning and evening stars
represented the masculine and feminine elements, and were
connected with the advent and perpetuation on earth of all
living forms. A series of ceremonies relative to the bringing
of life and its increase began with the first thunder in the
spring and culminated at the summer solstice in human sacrifice,
but the series did not close until the maize, called "mother
corn," was harvested. At every stage of the series certain
shrines or " bundles " became the centre of a ceremony. Each
shrine was in charge of an hereditary keeper, but its rituals
and ceremonies were in the keeping of a priesthood open to
all proper aspirants. Through the sacred and symbolic articles
of the shrines and their rituals and ceremonies a medium of
communication was believed to be opened between the people
and the supernatural powers, by which food, long life and
prosperity were obtained. The mythology of the Pawnee is
remarkably rich in symbolism and poetic fancy and their re-
ligious system is elaborate and cogent. The secret societies,
of which there were several in each tribe, were connected with
the belief in supernatural animals. The functions of these
societies were to call the game, to heal diseases, and to give
occult powers. Their rites were elaborate and their ceremonies
dramatic I
The Blackfeet or Siksika^ an Algonquian confederacy of
1 See G. A. Dorsey, " Arapaho Sun Dance," Pub. Field Gol. Mus. Anth. IV. 4
(Chicago), 1903; "The Cheyenne," torn. cit. IX. 1905.
2 A. C. Fletcher, in " Handbook of American> Indians " (ed. F. W. Hodge), Bur.
Am. Eth., Bull. 30, 1907 ; Am. Anth. iv. 4, 1902 ; "The Hako, a Pawnee Ceremony,"
■2.2nd Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1900-1, 2 (1904); G. A. Dorsey, "Traditions of
the Skidi Pawnee," Mem. Am. Folklore Soc. vill. 1904.
' From siksinam "black," and ka, the root of oqkatsh "foot." The origin of
the name is commonly given as referring to the blackening of their moccasins by
the ashes of the prairie fires.
374 Man : Past and Present [ch.
the northern plains, agree in culture with the Plains tribes
generally, though there is evidence of an earlier
The Black- culture, approximately that of the eastern wood-
land tribes. They are divided into the Siksika
proper, or Blackfeet, the Kainah or Bloods, and the Piegan,
the whole being popularly known as Blackfoot or Blackfeet.
Formerly bison and deer were their chief food and there is no
evidence that they ever practised agriculture, though tobacco
was grown and used entirely for ceremonial purposes. The
doors of their tipis always faced east. They have a great
number of dances — religious, war and social — besides secret
societies for various purposes, together with many " sacred
bundles " around every one of which centres a ritual. Practi-
cally every adult has his personal "medicine." The principal
deities are the Sun, and a supernatural being known as Napi
" Old Man," who may be an incarnation of the same idea.
The religious activity of a Blackfoot consists in putting himself
into a position where the cosmic power will take pity upon him
and give him something in return. There was no conception
of a single personal god'.
The Arapaho, another Algonquian Plains tribe, were once
according to their own traditions a sedentary agricultural people
Th A ah ^^^ ^° *'^^ north of their present range, apparently
in North Minnesota. They have been closely
associated with the Cheyenne for many generations I The
annual Sun Dance is their greatest tribal ceremony, and they
were active propagators of the ghost-dance religion of the last
century which centred in the belief in the coming of a messiah
and the restoration of the country to the Indians^
The Cheyenne, also of agricultural origin, have been for
generations a typical prairie tribe, living in skin tipis, following
The Che enne ^ bison over large areas, travelling and fighting
on horseback. In character they are proud, con-
tentious, and brave to desperation, with an exceptionally high
standard for women. Under the old system they had a council
of 44 elective chiefs, of whom four constituted a higher body,
' J. Mooney, " Handbook of American Indians " (ed. F. W. Hodge), Bur.
Am. Eth; Bull. 30, 1907; C- Wisslgr, "Material culture of the Blackfoot Indians,"
Anth. Papers, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. v. i, 1910; J. W, Schultz, My Life as an
Indian, 1907.
2 A. L. Kroeber, "The Arapaho," Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, xvill. 1900;
G. A. Dorsey and A. L. Kroeber, " Traditions of the Arapaho," Pub. Field Col.
Mus. Anth. V. 1903 ; G. A. Dorsey, "Arapaho Sun Dance," ib. IV. 1903.
3 J. Mooney, " The Ghost Dance Religion," i^hAnn. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1896,
x] The American Aborigines 375
with power to elect one of their number as head chief of the
tribe. In all councils that concerned the relations with other
tribes, one member of the council was appointed to argue
as proxy or "devil's advocate" for the alien people. The
council of 44 is still symbolised by a bundle of 44 invitation
sticks, kept with the sacred medicine-arrows, and formerly sent
round when occasion arose to convene the assembly. The
four medicine-arrows constitute the tribal palladium which they
claim to have had from the beginning of the world. It was
exposed once a year with appropriate rites, and is still religiously
preserved. No woman, white man, or even mixed blood of
the tribe has ever been allowed to come near the sacred arrows.
In priestly dignity the keepers of the medicine-arrows and the
priests of the Sun dance rites stood first and equaP.
VI I. Eastern Woodland Areal The culture north of the
Great Lakes and east of the St Lawrence is comparable to
that of the D^n^ (see p. 361), the main traits Eastern Wood-
being: the taking of caribou in pens ; the snaring lands: Material
of game ; the importance of small game and fish, Culture,
also of berries ; the weaving of rabbit-skins ; the birch canoe ;
the toboggan ; the conical skin or bark-covered shelter ; the
absence of basketry and pottery and the use of bark and
wooden utensils. To this northern group belong the Ojibway
north of the lakes, including the Saulteaux, the Wood Cree,
the Montagnais and the Naskapi. Further south the main
body falls into three large divisions : Iroquoian tribes (Huron,
Wyandot, Erie, Susquehanna and Five Nations); Central
Algonquian to the west of the Iroquois (some Ojibway, Ottawa,
Menomini, Sauk and Fox°, Potawatomi, Peoria, Illinois, Kicka-
poo, Miami, Piankashaw, Shawnee and Siouan Winnebago) ;
Eastern Algonquian (Abnaki group and Micmac).
The Central group west of the Iroquois appears to be the
1 G. A. Dorsey, "The Cheyenne," Pub. Field Col. Mus. Anth. ix. 1905 ; G. B.
.Grinnell, " Social organisation of the Cheyennes," Rep. Int. Cong. Am, Xlll. 1902.
2 Consult the following : A. C. Parker, " Iroquois uses of Maize and other Food
Plants," Bull. 144, University of California Pub.., Arch. andEth. vil. 4, 1909 ; W. J.
Hoffman, "The Menomini Indians," 14M Ann. jiep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1892-3, i (1896) ;
A. E. Jenks, ''The Wild Rice Gatherers of the Upper Lakes," \()th Ann. Rep. Bur.
Am. Eth. 1897-8, II. (1912); A. F. Chamberlam, "The Kootenay Indians and
Indians of the Eastern Provinces of Canada," Ann. Arch. Rep. 1905 (1906);
A. Skinner, " Notes on the Eastern Cree and Northern Saulteaux," Anth. Papers,
Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. ix. i, 191 1 ; The Indians of Greater New York., 1914;
J. N. B. Hewitt, "Iroquoian Cosmology,'' 2ij/ Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1899-
1900 (1903), etc.
3 For the Foxes (properly Musquakie) see M. A. Owen, Folklore of the Mus,
quakie Indians, 1904.
376 Man : Past and Present [ch.
most typical and the best known and the following are the
_ , „ main culture traits : maize, squashes and bean
'°"^" were cultivated, wild rice where available was a
great staple, and maple sugar was manufactured ; deer, bear
and even bison were hunted ; also wild fowl ; fishing was fairly
developed, especially sturgeon fishing on the lakes ; pottery
poor, but formerly used for cooking vessels, vessels of wood
and bark common ; some splint basketry ; two types of shelter
prevailed, a dome-shaped bark or mat-covered lodge for winter
and a rectangular bark house for summer, though the Ojibway
used the conical type of the northern border group ; dug-out
and bark canoes. and snowshoes were used, occasionally the
toboggan and dog traction ; weaving was of bark fibre (down-
ward with fingers), and soft bags, pack lines and fish nets were
made; clothing was of skins; soft-soled moccasins with drooping
flaps, leggings, breech-cloth and sleeved shirts for men, for
women a skirt and jacket, though a one-piece dress was known ;
robes of skin or woven rabbit-skin ; no armour or lances ; bows
of plain wood and clubs ; in trade days, the tomahawk : work
in wood, stone and bone weakly developed ; probably consider-
able use of copper in prehistoric times ; feather-work rare.
In the eastern group agriculture was more intensive (ex-
cept in the north) and pottery was more highly developed.
_ , „ Woven feather cloaks were common, there was
Eastern Group. • i i i c i • • i
a special development oi work m steatite, and
more use was made of edible roots.
The Iroquoian tribes were even more intensive agricul-
turalists and potters. They made some use of the blow-gun,
developed cornhusk weaving, carved elaborate
Tribes'^ masks from wood, lived in rectangular houses of
peculiar pattern, built fortifications and were
superior in bone work\
In physical type the Ojibways^ who may be taken as typical
of the central Algonquians, were 1 73 m. (5 ft. 8 in.) in height,
TheOlb a ^'''^ brachycephalic heads (82 in the east, 80 in
the west, but variable), heavy strongly developed
cheek-bones and heavy and prominent nose. They were hard
fighters and beat back the raids of the Iroquois on the east and
of the Foxes on the south, and drove the Sioux before them
^ C. Wissler, loc. cit. p. 459.
^ Ojibway, meaning " to roast till puckered up," referred to the puckered seam
on the moccasins. Chippewa is the popular adaptation of the word.
x] The American Aborigines 377
out upon the Plains. According to Schoolcraft, who was per-
sonally acquainted with them and married a woman of the
tribe, the warriors equalled in physical appearance the best
formed of the North- West Indians, with the possible exception
of the Foxes.
They were organised in many exogamous clans ; descent
was patrilineal although it was matrilineal in most Algonquian
tribes. The clan system was totemic. There was a clan chief
and generally a tribal chief as well, chosen from one clan in
which the office was hereditary. His authority was rather
indefinite.
As regards religion W. Jones' notes their belief in a cosmic
mystery present throughout all Nature, called " Manito." It
was natural to identify the Manito with both .
animate and inanimate objects and the impulse ^'S'""-
was strong to enter into personal relations with the mystic
power. There was one personification of the cosmic mystery ;
and this was an animate being called the Great Manito.. Al-
though they have long been in friendly relations with the
whites Christianity has had but little effect on them, largely
owing to the conservatism of the native medicine-men. The
Medewiwin, or grand medicine society, was a powerful organi-
sation, which controlled all the movements of the tribe I
The Iroquois' are not much differentiated in general culture
from the stocks around them, but in political development
they stand unique. The Five Nations, Mo-
hawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and Seneca
(subsequently joined by the Tuscarora), formed the famous
League of the Iroquois about the year 1570. Each tribe re-
mained independent in matters of local concern, but supreme
authority was delegated to a council of elected sachems. They
were second to no other Indian people north of Mexico in
political organisation, statecraft and military prowess, and their
astute diplomats were a match for the wily French and English
statesmen with whom they treated. So successful was this
confederacy that for centuries it enjoyed complete supremacy
over its neighbours, until it controlled the country from Hudson
Bay to North Carolina. The powerful Ojibway at the end of
1 W. Jones, Ann. Arch. Rep. 1905 (Toronto), 1906, p. 144. Cf. note on p. 372.
'^ W. J. Hoffman, "The Midewiwin or 'grand medicine society' of the Ojibwa,"
^th Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1886 (1891).
' From the Algonkin word meaning "real adders'' with French suffix.
378 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Lake Superior checked their north-west expansion, and their
own kindred the Cherokee stopped their progress southwards.
The social organisation was as a rule much more complex
and cohesive than that of any other Indians, and the most
notable difference was in regard to the important position
accorded to the women. Among the Cherokee, the Iroquois
and the Hurons the women performed important and essential
functions in their government. Every chief was chosen and
retained his position and every important measure was enacted
by the consent and cooperation of the child-bearing women,
and the candidate for a chieftainship was nominated by the
suff"rages of the matrons of this group. His selection from
among their sons had to be confirmed by the tribal and the
federal councils respectively, and finally he was installed into
office by federal officers. Lands and the "long houses" of
related families belonged solely to the women.
VIII. South-eastern Area. This area is conveniently
divided by the Mississippi, the typical culture occurring in the
South-eastern ^'3&'^- The Powhatan group and the Shawnee
Area : Material are intermediate, and the chief tribes are the
Culture. Muskhogean (Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Semi-
nole, etc.) and Iroquoian tribes {Cherokee and Tuscarora).
with the Yuchi, Eastern Siouan, Tunican and Quapaw. The
main culture traits are : great use of vegetable food and in-
tensive agriculture ; maize, cane (a kind of millet), pumpkins,
watermelons and tobacco being raised. Large use of wild
vegetables, the dog, the only domestic animal, eaten ; later
chickens, hogs, horses and cattle quickly adopted ; large
game, deer, bear and bison, in the west ; turkeys and small
game also hunted ; some fishing (with fish poison) ; of manu-
factured foods bears' oil, hickory-nut oil, persimmon bread and
hominy are noteworthy, together with the famous black drink' ;
houses generally rectangular with curved roofs, covered with
thatch or bark, often with plaster walls, reinforced with wicker
work ; towns were fortified with palisades ; dug-out canoes
were used for transport. Clothing chiefly of deerskins and
bison robes, shirt-like garments for men, skirts and toga-like
upper garments for women, boot-like moccasins in winter ;
' A decoction made by boiling the leaves of Ilex cassine in water, employed
as "medicine" for ceremonial purification. It was a powerful agent for the pro-
duction of the nervous state and disordered imagination necessary to " spiritual "
power.
x] The American Aborigines 379
there were woven fabrics of bark fibre, fine netted feather
cloaks, and some bison hair weaving in the west (the weaving
being downwards with the fingers) ; baskets of cane and spHnts,
the double or netted basket and the basket meal sieve being
special forms ; knives of cane, darts of cane and bone ; blow-
guns in general use ; pottery good, coil process, with paddle
decorations ; a particular method of skin dressing (macerated
in mortars), good work in stone, but little in metaP.
The Creek women were short though well formed, while
the warrior according to Pickett" was " larger than the ordinary
race of Europeans, often above 6 ft. in height, th r k
but was invariably well formed, erect in his car-
riage, and graceful in every movement. They were proud,
haughty and arrogant, brave and valiant in war." As a people
they were more than usually devoted to decoration and orna-
ment ; they were fond of music and ball play was their most
important game. Each Creek town had its independent
government, under an elected chief who was advised by the
council of the town in all important matters. Certain towns
were consecrated to peace ceremonies and were known as
"white towns," while others, set apart for war ceremonials,
were known as "red towns." The solemn annual festival of
the Creeks was the "busk" or puskita, a rejoicing over the
first-fruits of the year. Each town celebrated its busk whenever
the crops had come to maturity. All the worn-out clothes,
household furniture, pots and pans and refuse, grain and other
provisions were gathered together into a heap and consumed.
After a fast, all the fires in the town were extinguished and
a priest kindled a new fire from which were made all the
fires in the town. A general amnesty was proclaimed, all
malefactors might return to their towns and their offences
were forgiven. Indeed the new fire meant the new life, physical
and moral, which had to begin with the new year^
The Yuchi houses are grouped round a square plot of
ground which is held as sacred, and here the religious cere-
monies and social gatherings take place. On the xh Y hi
edges stand four ceremonial lodges, in conformity
with the four cardinal points, in which the different clan groups
1 C. Wissler, loc. cit. pp. 462-3.
« A. J. Pickett, Hist, of Alabama, 1851 (ed. 1896), p. 87.
3 Cf. A. S. Gatschet, "A migration legend of the Creek Indians," Trans. Acad.
Set. Si Louis, V. 1888.
380 Man : Past and Present [ch.
have assigned places. The square ground symbolises the rain-
bow, where in the sky-world, Sun, the mythical culture-hero,
underwent the ceremonial ordeals which he handed down to
the first Yuchi. The Sun, as chief of the sky-world, author
of the life, the ceremonies and the culture of the people, is by
far the most important figure in their religious life. Various
animals in the sky-world and vegetation spirits are recognised,
besides the totemic ancestral spirits, who play an important
part.
According to Speck' "the members of each clan believe
that they are relatives and, in some vague way, the descendants
of certain pre-existing animals whose names and identity they
now bear. The animal ancestors are accordingly totemic. In
regard to the living animals, they, too, are the earthly types
and descendants of the pre-existing ones, hence, since they
trace their descent from the same sources as the human clans,
the two are consanguinely related." Thus the members of a
clan feel obliged not to do violence to the wild animals having
the form or name of their tutelaries, though the flesh and fur
may be obtained from the members of other clans who are
under no such obligations. The different individuals of the
clan inherit the protection of the clan totems at the initiatory
rites, and thenceforth retain them as their protectors through
life.
Public religious worship centres in the complex annual
ceremony connected with the corn harvest and includes the
making of new fire, clan dances impersonating totemic ances-
tors, dances to propitiate maleficent spirits and acknowledge
the assistance of beneficent ones in the hope of a continuance
of their benefits, scarification of the males for sacrifice and
purification, taking an emetic as a purifier, the partaking of
the first green corn of the season, and the performance of a
characteristic ball game with two sticks.
The middle and lower portions of the Mississippi valley
with out-lying territories exhibit archaeological evidence of a
remarkable culture, higher than that of any other
Builders. ^""^^ north of Mexico. This culture was charac-
terised by "well established sedentary life, ex-
tensive practice of agricultural pursuits, and construction of
' F. G. Speck, "Some outlines of Aboriginal Culture in the S.E. States," Am.
Anth. N.S. IX. 1907; "Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians," Anth. Pub. Mus. Univ.
Pa. I. I, 1909.
x] The American Aborigines 381
permanent works — domiciliary, religious, civic, defensive and
mortuary, of great magnitude and much diversity of form."
The people, some, if not all of whom were mound-builders,
were of numerous linguistic stocks, Siouan, Algonquian, Iro-
quoian, Muskhogean, Tunican, Chitimachan, Caddoan and
others, and "these historic peoples, remnants of which are
still found within the area, were doubtless preceded by other
groups not of a distinct race but probably of the same or
related linguistic families. This view, in recent years, has
gradually taken the place of the early assumption that the
mound culture belonged to a people of high cultural attain-
ments who had been succeeded by Indian tribes. That mound
building continued down to the period of European occupancy
is a well established fact, and many of the burial mounds
contain as original inclusions articles of European make'."
These general conclusions are in no way opposed to De
Nadaillac's suggestion that the mounds were certainly the work
of Indians, but of more civilised tribes than the present Algon-
quians, by whom they were driven south to Florida, and there
found with their towns, council-houses, and other structures
by the first white settlers^ It would appear, however, from
F. H. Cushing's investigations, that these tribal council-houses
of the Seminole Indians were a local development, growing
up on the spot under conditions quite different from those
prevailing in the north. Many of the vast shell-mounds, es-
pecially between Tampa and Cape Sable, are clearly of artificial
structure, that is, made with definite purpose, and carried up
symmetrically into large mounds comparable in dimensions
with the I ndian mounds of the interior. They originated with
pile dwellings in shallow water, where the kitchen refuse, chiefly
shells, accumulates and rises above the surface, when the
building appears to stand on posts in a low mound. Then this
type of structure comes to be regarded as the normal for house-
building everywhere. " Through this natural series of changes
in type there is a tendency to the development of mounds as
sites for habitations and for the council-houSe of the clan or
tribe, the sites being either separate mounds or single large
mounds, according to circumstances. Thus the study of the
living Seminole Indians and of the shell-mounds in the same
1 W. H. Holmes, "Areas of American Culture," etc., Am. Anth. xvi. 1914,
p. 424.
2 L'Anthropologie, 1897, p. 702 sq.
382 Man : Past and Present [ch,
vicinity... suggests a possible origin for a custom of mound-
building at one time so prevalent among the North American
Indians\" But if this be the genesis of such structures, the
custom must have spread from the shores of the Gulf inland,
and not from the Ohio valley southwards to Florida.
IX. South-western Area. On account of its highly de-
veloped state and its prehistoric antecedents, the Pueblo
South-western culture appears as the type, though this is by no
Area : Material means uniform in the different villages. Three
Culture. geographical groups may be' recognised, the
Hopi^ the Zufiis and the Rio Grande^
The culture of the whole may be characterised by : main
dependence upon maize and other cultivated foods (men doing
the cultivating and cloth-weaving instead of women); use of
a grinding stone instead of a mortar ; the art of masonry ;
loom or upward weaving ; cultivated cotton as a textile ma-
terial ; pottery decorated in colour ; unique style of building
and the domestication of the turkey. Though the main de-
pendence was on vegetable food there was some hunting ; the
eastern villages hunted bison and deer, especially Taos. Drives
of rabbits and antelopes were practised, the unique hunting
weapon being the curved rabbit stick. Woven robes were
usual. Men wore aprons and a robe when needed. Women
wore a garment reaching from shoulder to knee fastened on
the right shoulder only. In addition to cloth robes some were
woven of rabbit-skin and some netted with turkey feathers..
Hard-soled moccasins were worn, those for women having
long strips of deerskin wound round the leg. Pottery was
highly developed, not only for practical use. Basketry was
known but not so highly developed as among the non- Pueblo
tribes. The dog was not used for transportation and there
were no boats. Work in stone and wood not superior to that
of other areas ; some work in turquoise, but none in metal.
Many tribes appear to be transitional to the Pueblo type.
Thus the Pima once lived in adobe houses, though not of
Pueblo type, they developed irrigation but also made ex-
^ \bth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth.^ Washington, 1897, p. Ivi sq.
^ Walpi, Sichumovi, Hano (Tewa), Shipaulovi, Mishongnovi, Shunopovi and
Oraibi.
' Zuni proper, Pescado, Nutria and Ojo Caliente.
* Taos, Picuris,. San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Pojoaque,
Nambe, Jemez, Pecos, Sandia, Isleta, all of Tanoan stock ; San Felipe, Cochiti,
Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Sia Laguna and Acoma, of Keresan stock.
x] The American Aborigines 383
tensive use of wild plants, raised cotton, wove cloth, were
indifferent potters but experts in basketry. The Transitional or
Mohave, Yuma, Cocopa, Maricopa and Yavapai intermediate
built a square flat-roofed house of wood, had no Tribes,
irrigation, were not good basket-makers (except the Yavapai)
but otherwise resembled the Pima. The Walapai and Hava-
supai were somewhat more nomadic.
The Athapascan tribes to the east show intermediate
cultures. The Jicarilla and Mescalero used the Plains tipi,
gathered wild vegetable food, hunted bison, had no agriculture
or weaving, but dressed in skins, and had the glass-bead
technique of the Plains. The western Apache differed little
from these, but rarely used tipis and gave a little more atten-
tion to agriculture. In general the Apache have certain
undoubted Pueblo traits, they also remind one of the Plains,
the Plateaus, and, in a lean-to like shelter, of the Mackenzie
area. The Navaho seem to have taken their most- striking
features from European influence, but their shelter is of the
northern type, while costume, pottery and feeble attempts at
basketry and formerly at agriculture suggest Pueblo influence'.
Pueblo culture takes its name from the towns or villages
of stone or adobe houses which form the characteristic feature
of the area. These vary according to the locality, -pjj p vj
those in the north being generally of sandstone,
while adobe or sun-dried brick was employed to the south.
The groups of dwellings were generally compact structures of
several stories, with many small rooms, built in terrace fashion,
the roof of one storey forming a promenade for the storey next
above. Thus from the front the structure is like a gigantic
staircase, from the back a perpendicular wall. The upper
houses were and still are reached by means of movable ladders
and a hatchway in the roof. Mainly in the north but scattered
throughout the area are the remains of dwellings built in
natural recesses of cliffs, while in some places the cliff face is
honeycombed with masonry to provide habitations.
Although doubtless designed for purposes of hiding and
1 For this area see A. F. Bandelier, " Final Report of Investigations among the
Indians of the S.W. United States," ^r<:/4. Inst, of Am. Papers, 1890-2; P. E.
Goddard, "Indians of the Southwest," Handbook Series, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 2,
1913 ; F. Russell, "The Pima Indians," ibth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1904-5 (1908) ;
G. Nordenskiold, The Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, S. W. Colorado, 1893 ; C. Min-
deleff, "Aboriginal Remains in Verde Valley, Arizona," 13M Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth.
1 89 1 -2 (1896). For chronology cf. L. Spier, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. Anth. xviii.
384 Man : Past and Present [ch.
defence, many of the cliff houses were near streams and fields
and were occupied because they afforded shelter
and were natural dwelling places ; many were
storage places for maize and other property : others again
were places for outlook from which the fields could be watched
or the approach of strangers observed. In some districts
evidence of post-Spanish occupancy exists. From intensive
investigation of the cliff dwellings it is evident that the in-
habitants had the same material culture as that of existing
Pueblo Indians, and from the ceremonial objects which have
been discovered and the symbolic decoration that was em-
ployed it is equally clear that their religion was essentially
similar. Moreover the various types of skulls that have been
recovered are similar to those of the present population of the
district. It may therefore be safely said that there is no evi-
dence of the former general occupancy of the region by peoples
other than those now classed as Pueblo Indians or their
neighbours.
J. W. Fewkes points out that the district is one of arid
plateaus, separated and dissected by deep cafions, frequently
composed of flat-lying rock strata forming ledge-marked cliffs
by the erosive action of the rare storms. " Only along the few
streams heading in the mountains does permanent water exist,
and along the cliff lines slabs of rock suitable for building
abound ; and the primitive ancients, dependent as they were
on environment, naturally produced the cliff dwellings. The
tendency toward this type was strengthened by intertribal
relations ; the cliff dwellers were probably descended from
agricultural or semi-agricultural villagers who sought protection
against enemies, and the control of land and water through
aggregation in communities Locally the ancient villages of
Canyon de Chellyare known as Aztec ruins, and this designation
is just so far as it implies relationship with the aborigines of
moderately advanced culture in Mexico and Central America,
though it would be misleading if regarded as indicating essential
difference between the ancient villagers and their modern de-
scendants and neighbours still occupying the pueblos \"
Each pueblo contains at "least one kiva, either wholly or
partly underground, entered by means of a ladder and hatch-
way, forming a sacred chamber for the transaction of civil or
1 xbth Ann. Report,^, xciv. Cf. E. Huntington, "Desiccation in Arizona,'^
Geog. Journ., Sept. and Oct. 1912.
x] The American Aborigines 385
religious affairs, and also a club for the men. In some villages
each totemic clan has its own kiva. The Indians „ .. .
are eminently a religious people and much time
is devoted to complicated rites to ensure a supply of rain, their
main concern, and the growth of crops. Among the Hopi
from four to sixteen days in every month are employed by one
society or another in the carrying out of religious rites. The
secret portions of these complicated ceremonies take place in
the kiva, while the so-called " dances" are performed in the
open.
The clan ancestors may be impersonated by masked men,
called katcinas, the name being also applied to the religious
dramas in which they appear'.
In reference to J. Walter Fewkes' account of the "Tusayan
Snake Ceremonies," it is pointed out that "the Pueblo Indians
adore a plurality of deities, to which various po- o t n
tencies are ascribed. These zoic deities, or beast
gods, are worshipped by means of ceremonies which are some-
times highly elaborate ; and, so far as practicable, the mystic
zoic potency is represented in the ceremony by a living animal
of similar species or by an artificial symbol. Prominent among
the animate representatives of the zoic pantheon throughout
the arid region is the serpent, especially the venomous and
hence mysteriously potent rattlesnake. To the primitive mind
there is intimate association, too, between the swift-striking
and deadly viper and the lightning, with its attendant rain and
thunder ; there is intimate association, too, between the moisture-
loving reptile of the subdeserts and the life-giving storms and
freshets ; and so the 'native rattlesnake play's an important
role in the ceremonies, especially in the invocations for rain,
which characterize the entire arid region"."
^ For the religion consult F. H. Gushing, " Zufii Creation Myths," l^th Attn.
Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1891-2 (1896); Zuni Folk Tales, 1901 ; Matilda C. Stevenson,
" The Religious Life of the Zuiii Child," ^th Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1887 ; " The
Zuiii Indians, their mythology, esoteric fraternities, and ceremonies," lyd Rep.i<)Oi^ ;
J. VV. Fewkes, "Tusayan Katcinas," i^th Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1893-4(1897);
"Tusayan Snake Ceremonies," ibth Rep. 1894-5 (1897); "Tusayan Flute and
Snake Ceremonies," igtk Rep. 1897-8,11.(1900); "Hopi Katcinas," 21 j/i?^/. 1899-
igoo (1903), and other papers. For dances see W. Hough, Moki Snake dance,
1898; G. A. Dorsey and H. R. Voth, "Mishongnovi Ceremonies of the Snake and
Antelope Fraternities," Pub. Field Col. Mus. Anth. ni. 3, 1902; J. W. Fewkes,
"Snake Ceremonials at 'Wa.\^\," Jour. Am. Eth. and Arch. IV. 1894 and "Tusayan
Snake Ceremonies," idth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1897 ; H. Hodge, " Pueblo Snake
Ceremonies," Am. Anth. ix. 1896.
2 p. xcvii.
K. 25
386 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Fewkes pursues the same fruitful line of thought in his
monograph on The Feather Symbol in Ancient Hopi Designs^,
showing how amongst the Tusayan Pueblos, although they
have left no written records, there survives an elaborate
paleography, the feather motif in the pottery found in the old
ruins, which is in fact "a picture writing often highly symbolic
and complicated," revealing certain phases of Hopi thought
in remote times. " Thus we come back to a belief, taught by
other reasoning, that ornamentation of ancient pottery was
something higher than simple effort to beautify ceramic wares.
The ruling motive was a religious one, for in their system
everything was under the same sway. Esthetic and religious
feelings were not differentiated,, the one implied the other, and
to elaborately decorate a vessel without introducing a religious
symbol was to the ancient potter an impossibilityl"
Physically the Pueblo Indians are of short stature, with
long, low head, delicate face and dark skin. They are mus-
Ph ■ ai T cular and of great endurance, able to carry heavy
burdens up steep and difficult trails, and to walk
or even run great distances. It is said to be no uncommon
thing for a Hopi to run 40 miles over a burning desert
to his cornfield, hoe his corn, and return home within
24 hours. Distances of 140 miles are frequently made
within 36 hours^ In disposition they are mild and peaceable,
industrious, and extraordinarily conservative, a trait shown in
the fidelity with which they retain and perpetuate their ancient
customs\ Labour is more evenly divided than among most
Indian tribes. The men help the women with
the heavier work of house-building, they collect
the fuel, weave blankets and make moccasins, occupations
usually regarded as women's work. The women carry the
water, and make the pottery for which the region is famous^
. A. L. Kroeber has made a careful study of Zuni sociology"
and come to the conclusion that the family is fundamental
and the clan secondary, though kinship terms are applied to
clan mates in a random fashion, and even the true kinship
* Amer. Anthropologist, Jan. 1898. ' ^ p. 13.
3 G. W. James, Indians of the Painted Desert Region, 1903, p. 90.
* L. Farrand, Basis of American History, 1904, p. 184.
^ W. H. Holmes, "Pottery ol the ancient Pueblos," d,thAnn. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth.
1882-3 ^i886) ; F. H. Gushing, " A study of Pueblo Pottery," etc., ib. ; J. W. Fewkes,
"Archaeological expedition to Arizona," iTth Rep. 1895-6 (1898); W. Hough,
"Archaeological field work in N.E. Arizona" (19Q1), Rep. U.S. Ng.t. Mus. 1903.
* " Zufii Kin and Glan," Anth. Papers, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, xvill. 1917, p. 39.
x] The American Aborigines 387
terms are applied loosely. In view of the obvious preeminence
of the woman, who receives the husband into her and her
mother's house, it is worthy of note that she and her children
recognise her husband's relatives as their kin as fully as he
adopts hers. The Zuni are not a woman-ruled people. As
regards government, women neither claim nor have any voice
whatever, nor are there women priests, nor fraternity officers.
Even within the house, so long as a man is a legitimate
inmate thereof, he is master of it and of its affairs. They
are a monogamous people. Divorce is more easy than
marriage, and most men and women of middle age have been
married to several partners. Marriage in the mother's clan
is forbidden ; in the father's clan, disapproved. The phratries
have no social significance, there is no central clan house, no
recognised head, no meeting, council or any organisation, nor
does the clan as such ever act as a body. The clans have
little connection with the religious societies or fraternities.
There are no totemic tabus nor is there worship of the clan
totem. People are reckoned as belonging to the father's clan
almost as much as~to that of the mother. If one of the family
of a person who belongs to a fraternity falls sick the fraternity
is called in to cure the patient, who is subsequently received
into its ranks. The Zuni fraternity is largely a body of
religious physicians, membership is voluntary and not limited
by sex. At Hopi we hear of rain-making more than of
doctoring, more of "priests" than of " theurgists." The
religious functions of the Zuni are most marked in the cere-
monies of the Ko-tikkyanne, the "god-society" or "masked-
dancer society," and it is with these that the kivas are
associated. They are almost wholly concerned with rain.
Only men can become members and entrance is compulsory.
Kroeber believes that " the truest understanding of Zuni life,
other than its purely practical manifestation, can be had by
setting the ettowe [' fetish '] as a centre. Around these,
priesthoods, fraternities, clan organisation, as well as most
esoteric thinking and sacred tradition, group themselves ;
while, in turn, kivas, dances, and acts of public worship can
be construed as but the outward means of expression of the
inner activities that radiate around the nucleus of the physical
fetishes and the ideas attached to them\"
'»
1 p. 167.
25—2
CHAPTER XI
THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES {continued)
Mexican and Central American Cultures — Aztec and Maya Scripts and Calendars —
Nahua and Shoshoni — Chichimec and Aztec Empires — Uncultured Mexican
Peoples : Otomi; Seri — Early Man in Yucatan — The Maya to-day — Transitions
from North to South America — Chontal and Choco — The Catio — Cultures of
the Andean area — The Colombian Chibcha — Empire of the Inca — Quichuan
Race and Language — Inca Origins and History — The Aymara — Chimu
Culture — Peruvian Politico-Social System — The Araucanians — The Pampas
Indians— Th.^ Gauchos — Patagonians and Fuegians — Linguistic Relations —
The Yahgans — The Cashibo — The Pana Family — The Caribs — Arawakan
Family — The Ges (Tapuyan) Family — The Botocudo — The Tupi-Guaranian
Family — The Chiquito — Mataco and Toba of the Gran Chaco.
In Mexico and Central America interest is centred chiefly
in two great ethnical groups — the Nahuatlan and Huaxtecan
j^ . — whose cultural, historical, and even geogra-
and Central phical relations are so intimately interwoven that
American they Can scarcely be treated apart. Thus, although
ures. their civilisations are concentrated respectively
in the Anahuac (Mexican) plateau and Yucatan and Guatemala,
the two domains overlap completely at both ends, so that there
are isolated branches of the Huaxtecan family in Mexico (the
Huaxtecs (Totonacs) of Vera Cruz, from whom the whole
group is named, and of the Nahuatlan in Nicaragua (Pipils,
Niquirans, and others) \
This very circumstance has no doubt tended 'to increase
the difficulties connected with the questions of their origins,
migrations, and mutual cultural influences. Some of these
difficultiesdisappear if the "Toltecs" be eliminated (see p. 342),
who had hitherto been a great disturbing element in this con-
nection, and all the rest have in my opinion been satisfactorily
' Some Nahuas, whom the Spaniards called' "Mexicans" or " Chichimecs,"
were met by Vasquez de Coronado even as far south as the Chiriqii lagoon,
Panama. These Seguas, as they called themselves, have since disappeared, and
it is no longer possible to say how they strayed so far from their northern homes.
CH-, xi] The Ame7'ican Aborigines 389
disposed of by E. Forstemann, a leading authority on all
Aztec-Maya questions'. This eminent archaeologist refers first
to the views of Seler^ who assumes a southern movement of
Maya tribes from Yucatan, and a like movement of Aztecs
from Tabasco to Nicaragua, and even to Yucatan. On the
other hand Dieseldorff holds that Maya art was independently
developed, while the link between it and the Aztec shows that
an interchange took place, in which process the Maya was the
giver, the Aztec the recipient. He further attributes the over-
throw of the Maya power 100 or 200 years before the conquest
to the Aztecs, and thinks the Aztecs or Nahuas took their god
Quetzalcoatl from the " Toltecs," who were a Maya people.
Ph. J. Valentini also infers that the Maya were the original
people, the Aztecs "mere parasites ^"
Now Forstemann lays down the principle that any theory,
to be satisfactory, should fit in with such facts as : — ( i ) the
agreement and diversity of both cultures ; (2) the antiquity
and disappearance of the mysterious Toltecs ; (3) the complete
isolation at 22° N. lat. of the Huaxtecs from the other Maya
tribes, and their difference from them ; (4) the equally complete
isolation of the Guatemalan Pipils, and of the other southern
(Nicaraguan) Aztec groups from the rest of the Nahua peoples;
(5) the remarkable absence of Aztec local names in Yucatan,
while they occur in hundreds in Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras
and Nicaragua, where scarcely any trace is left of Maya names.
To account for these facts he assumes that in the earliest
known times Central America from about 23° to 10° N. was
mainly inhabited by Maya tribes, who had even reached Cuba.
While these Mayas were still at quite a low stage of culture,
the Aztecs advanced from as far north as at least 26° N. but
only on the Pacific side, thus leaving the Huaxtecs almost
untouched in the east. The Aztecs called the Mayas "Toltecs'
because they first came in contact with one of their northern
branches living in the region about Tula (north of Mexico
city)*. But when all the relations became clearer, the Toltecs
■ " Recent Maya Investigations," Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. 28, J904, p. 555.
2 Alterthiimer aus Guatemala, p. 24.
3 Analysis of the Pictorial Text inscribed on two Palenque Tablets, N. York,
1896.
^ H. Beuchat however considers that "the Toltec question remains insoluble";
thougH the hypothesis that the Toltecs formed part of the north to south movement
is attractive^ it is not yet proved, Manuel d' ArcMologie amdricaine, Paris, 1912,
pp. 258-61.
39° Man : Past and Present [ch.
fell gradually into the background, and at last entered the
domain of the fabulous.
Now the Aztecs borrowed much from the Mayas, especially
gods, whose names they simply translated. A typical case is
thatof Cuculcan, which becomes Quetzalcoatl, where^^/: = quezal
= the bird Trogon resplendens, and can = coatl= snaked With
the higher culture developed in Guatemala the Aztecs came
first in contact after passing through Mixtec and Zapotec
territory, not long before Columbian times, so that they had
no time here to consolidate their empire and assimilate the
Mayas. On the contrary the Aztecs were themselves merged
in these, all but the Pipils and the settlements on Lake Nica-
ragua, which retained their national peculiarities.
But whence came the hundreds of Aztec names in the lands
between Chiapas and Nicaragua? Here it should be noted
that these names are almost exclusively confined to the more
important stations, while the less prominent places have every-
where names taken from the tongues of the local tribes. But
even the Aztec names themselves occur properly only in ofificial
use, hence also on the charts, and are not current to-day
amongst the natives who have kept aloof from the Spanish-
speaking populations. Hence the inference that such names
were mainly introduced by the Spaniards and their Mexican
troops during the conquest of those lands, say, up to about
1535, and do not appear in Yucatan which was not conquered
from Mexico. Forstemann reluctantly accepts this view, ad-
vanced by Sapper'', having nothing better to suggest.
The coastal towns of Yucatan visited by Spaniards from
Ctiba in 1517 and onwards were decidedly inferior architec-
turally to the great temple structures of the interior, though
doubtless erected by the same people. The inland cities of
Chichen-Itza and Uxmal by that time had fallen from their
ancient glory though still religious centres".
The Maya would thus appear to have stood on a higher
plane of culture than their Aztec rivals, and the same conclusion
1 Quetzalcoatl, the "Bright-feathered .Snake," was one of the three chief ^ods
of the Nahuan pantheon. He was the god of wind and inventor of all the arts,
round whom clusters mucli of the mythology, and of- the pictorial and plastic art
of the Mexicans.
'^ Clobus, LXVI. pp. 95-^.
3 Herbert J. Spinden, "A Study of Maya Art," Mem. Peabody Mus. vi., Cam-
bridge, Mass. 1913, p. 3ff., and Proc. Nineteenth Int^rnat. Congress A-mericanists;
1917, p. 165.
-^^i] The American Aborigines 391
may be drawn from their respective writing systems. Of all
the aborigines these two alone had developed what may fairly
be called a script in the , strict sense of the term, although
neither of them had reached the same level of efficiency as
the Babylonian cuneiforms, or the Chinese or the Egyptian
hieroglyphs, not to speak of the syllabic and alphabetic systems
of the Old World. Some even of the barbaric peoples, such
as most of the prairie Indiains, had reached the stage of graphic
symbolism, and were thus on the threshold of writing at the
discovery. "The art was rudimentary and limited to crude
pictography. The pictographs were painted or sculptured on
cliff-faces, boulders, the walls of caverns, and even on trees,
as well as on skins, bark, and various artificial objects. Among
certain Mexican tribes, also, autographic records were in use,
and some of them were much better differentiated
than any within the present area of the United MayaScripts
States. The records were not only painted and
sculptured on stone and moulded in stucco, but were inscribed
in books or codices of native parchment and paper ; while the
characters were measurably arbitrary, i.e. ideographic rather
than pictographic\"
The Aztec writing may be best described as pictographic,
the pictures being symbolical or, in the case of names, combined
into a rebus. No doubt much diversity of opinion prevails as
to whether the Maya symbols are phonetic or ideographic,
and it is a fact that no single text, however short, has yet
been satisfactorily deciphered. It seems that many of the
symbols possessed true phonetic value and were used to ex-
press sounds and syllables, though it cannot be claimed that
the Maya scribes had reached that advanced stage where they
could infiicate each letter sound by a glyph or symboP. Acr
cording to Cyrus Thomas, a symbol was selected because the
name or word it represented had as its chief phonetic element
a certain consonant sound or syllable. If this were b the symbol
would be used where b was the prominent element of the word
1 J. W. Powell, \bth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1894, p. xcv.
2 Sylvanus Griswold Morley ("An Introduction to the Study of the Maya
hieroglyphs^" Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. S7, 1915)1 briefly summarises the theories
advanced for the interpretation of Maya writing (pp. 26-30). "The theory now
most generally accepted is, that while chiefly ideographic, the glyphs are some-
times phonetic." This author is of opinion "that as the deciplierment of Maya
writing progresses, more and more phonetic elements will be identified, though
the idea conveyed by a glyph will always be found to overshadow its phonetic
value" (p. 30).
392 Man : Past and Present [ch.
to be indicated, no reference, however, to its original significa-
tion being necessarily retained. Thus the symbol for cab,
'earth,' might be used in writing C«^a«, a day name, or cabil,
'honey,' because cab is their chief phonetic element.... One
reason why attempts at decipherment have failed is a mis-
conception of the peculiar character of the writing, which is
in a transition stage from the purely ideographic to the
phonetic^ From the example here given, the Maya script
would appear to have in part reached the rebus stage, which
also plays so large a part in the Egyptian hieroglyphic system.
Cab is obviously a rebus, and the transition from the rebus to
true syllabic and alphabetic systems has already been explained ^
The German Americanists on the other hand have always
regarded Maya writing as more ideographic, and H. Beuchat
adopts this view, for "no symbol has ever been read pho-
netically with a different meaning from that which it possesses
as an ideogram'."
But not only were the Maya day character's phonetic ; the
Maya calendar itself, afterwards borrowed by the Aztecs, has
been described as even more accurate than the
Julian itself. "Among the Plains Indians the
calendars are simple, consisting commonly of a record of
winters (' winter counts '), and of notable events occurring
either during the winter or, during some other season; while
the shorter time divisions are reckoned by ' nights ' (days),
' dead moons ' (lunations), and seasons of leafing, flowering,
or fruiting of plants, migrating of animals, etc., and there is
no definite system of reducing days to lunations or lunations
to years. Among the Pueblo Indians calendric records are
inconspicuous or absent, though there is a much more definite
calendric system which is fixed and perpetuated by .religious
ceremonies ; while among some of the Mexican tribes there
are elaborate calendric systems combined with complete
calendric records. The perfection of the calendar among
the Maya and Nahua Indians is indicated by the fact that
not only were 365 days reckoned as a year, but the bissextile
was recognized*."
1 "Day Symbols of the Maya Year," \(sth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1894, p. 205.
^ p. 32 ff.
' Manuel d' Archiologie amdricaine, p. 506.
* ibth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1894, p. xcvi. In "The Maya Year" (1894) Cyrus
Thomas shows that "the year recorded in the Dresden codex consisted of 18 months
of 20 days each, with 5 supplemental days, or of 365 days " (z*.). S. G. Morley points
-"^i] The American Aborigines 393
In another Important respect the superiority of the Maya-
Quiche peoples over the northern Nahuans is incontestable.
When their religious systems are compared, it is
at once seen that at the time of the discovery gSsW^
the Mexican Aztecs were little better than ruth-
less barbarians newly clothed in the borrowed robes of an
advanced culture, to which they had not had time to adapt
themselves properly, and in which they could but masquerade
after their own savage fashion.
It has to be remembered that the Aztecs were but one
branch of the Nahuatlan family, whose affinities Buschmann'
has traced northwards to the rude Shoshonian aborigines who
roamed from the present States of Montana, Idaho, and Oregon
down into Utah, Texas, and California'. To this Nahuatlan
stock belonged the barbaric hordes who overthrew the civili-
sation which flourished on the Anahuac (Mexican) table-land
about the sixth century a.d. and is associated with the ruins
of Tula and Chalula. It now seems clear that the so-called
" Toltecs," the " Pyramid-builders," were not Nahuatlans but
Huaxtecans, who were absorbed by the immigrants or driven
southwards.
out {Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. 57, pp. 44-5) that though the Maya doubtless knew that
the true length of the year exceeded 365 days by 6 hours, yet no interpolation of
intercalary days was actually made, as this would have thrown the whole calendar
into confusion. The priests apparently corrected the calendar by additional cal-
culations to show how far the recorded year was ahead of the true year. Those
who have persistently appealed to these Maya-Aztec calendric systems as con-
vincing proofs of Asiatic influences in the evolution of American cultures will now
have to show where these influences come in. As a matter of fact the systems are
fimdamentally distinct, the American showing the clearest indications of local
development, as seen in the mere fact that the day characters of the Maya codices
were phonetic, i.e. largely rebuses explicable only in the Maya language, which
has no affinities out of America. A careful study of the Maya calendric system
based both on the codices and the inscriptions has been made by C. P. Bowditch,
The Numeration, Calendar Systems arid Astronomical Knowledge of the Mayas,
Cambridge, Mass. 1910. The Aztec month of 20 days is also clearly indicated by
the 20 corresponding signs on the great Calendar Stone now fixed in the wall of the
Cathedral tower of Mexico. This basalt stone, which weighs 25 tons and has a
diameter of 1 1 feet, is briefly described and figured by T. A. Joyce, Mexican
Archaeology, 1914, pp. 73, 74; cf. PL vili. fig. i. See also the account by
Alfredo Chavero in the Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico, and an excellent
reproduction of the Calendar Stone in T. U. Brocklehurst's Mexico To-day,
1883, p. 186 ; also Zelia Nuttall's study of the " Mexican Calendar System," Tenth
Internal. Congress of Americanists, Stockholm, 1894. "The regular rotation of
market-days and the day of enforced rest every 20 days were the prominent and
permanent features of the civil solar year" {ib.).
' Spuren der Aztek. Sprache, li^g, passim.
2 Linguistic and mythological affinities also exist according to Spence between
the Nahuan people aneithe Tsimshian-Noolka group of Columbia. Cf. The Civili-
zation of Ancient Mexico, 191 2, p. 6.
394 Man : Past and Present [ch.
To north and north-west of the settled peoples of the
valley lived nomadic hunting tribes called Chichimec', merged
in a loose political system which was dignified in
Stec'iEm ^t the local traditions by the name of the " Chichimec
Empire." The chief part was played by tribes
of Nahuan origin^ whose ascendancy lasted from about the
eleventh to the fifteenth century, when they were in their turn
overthrown and absorbed by the historical Nahuan confederacy
of the Aztecs^ whose capital was Tenochtitlan (the present city
of Mexico), the Acolhuas (capital Tezcuco), and the Tepanecs
(capital Tlacopan).
Thus the Aztec Empire reduced by the Conquistadores in
1520 had but a brief record, although the Aztecs themselves
as well as many other tribes of Nahuatl speech, must have
been in contact with the more civilised Huaxtecan peoples for
centuries before the appearance of the Spaniards on the scene.
It was during these ages that the Nahuas "borrowed much
from the Mayas," as Fdrstemann puts it; without greatly
benefiting by the process. Thus the Maya gods, for the most
part of a relatively mild type like the Maya themselves, be-
come in the hideous Aztec pantheon ferocious demons with an
insatiable thirst for blood, so that the teocalli, "god's houses,"
were transformed to human shambles, where on solemn
occasions the victims were said to have numbered tens of
thousands*.
^ "Chiefly of the Nahuatl race" (De Nadaillac, p. 279). It should, however
be rioted that this general name of Chichimec (meaning little more than "nomadic
hunters") comprised a large number of barbarous tribes — Fames, Pintos, etc. —
who are described as wandering about naked or wearing only the skins of beasts,
living in caves or rock-shelters, armed with bows, slings, and clubs, constantly at
war amongst themselves or with the surrounding peoples, eating raw flesh, drinlcing
the blood of their captives or treating them with unheard-of cruelty, altogether a
horror and terror to all the more civilised communities. "Chichimec Empire"
may therefore be taken merely as a euphemistic expression for the reign of bar-
barism raised up on the ruins of the early Toltec civilisation. Yet it had its
dynasties and dates and legendary sequence of events, according to the native
historian, Ixtlilxochitl, himself of royal lineagfe, and he states that Xolotl, founder
of the empire, had under orders 3,202,000 men and women, that his decisive
victory over the Toltecs took place in 1015, that he assumed the title of "Chichi-
mecatl Teciihti," Great Chief of the Chichimecs, and that after a succession of
revolts, wars, conspiracies, and revolutions, Maxtla, last of the dynasty, was over-
thrown in 1431 by the Aztecs and their allies.
^ H. BkuchaX., Manuel ii'Arck^ologteam^ruaifte, pp. 262-6.
^ Named from the shadowy land of Aztlah aWay to the north, where they long
dwelt in the seven legendary caves of Chicomoztoc, whence they migrated at some
unknown period to the lacustrine region, whtire they founded Tenochtitlan, seat of
thefr empire.
* " The gods of the Mayas appear to have been less sanguinary than those of
the Nahuas. The immolation of a dog was with them enough for an occasion
xi] The A'merican Aborigines 395
Besides the Aztecs and their allies, the elevated Mexican
plateaus were occupied by several other relatively civilised
nations, such as the Miztecs and Zapotecs of uncultured
Oajaca, the Tarasco and neighbouring Matlalt- Mexican
zinca of Michoacan\ all of whom spoke inde- Peoples,
pendent stock languages, and the Totonacs of Vera Cruz, who
were of Huaxtecan speech, and were in touch to the north
with the Huaxtecs, a primitive Maya people. The high degree
of civilisation attained by some of these nations before their
reduction by the Aztecs is attested by the magnificent ruins
of Mitla, capital of the Zapotecs, which was captured and
destroyed by the Mexicans in 1494^ Of the royal palace
Viollet-le-Duc speaks in enthusiastic terms, declaring that
"the monuments of the golden age of Greece and Rome
alone equal the beauty of the masonry of this great building'."
In general their usages and religious rites resembled those of
the Aztecs, although tlie Zapotecs, besides the civil ruler, had
a High Priest who took part in the government. " His feet
were never allowed to touch the ground ; he was carried on
the shoulders of his attendants ; and when he appeared all,
even the chiefs themselves, had to fall prostrate before him,
and none dared to raise their eyes in his presence\" The
Zapotec language is still spoken by about 260 natives in the
State of Oajaca.
Farther north the plains and uplands continued to be
inhabited by a multitude of wild tribes speaking an unknown
number of stock languages, and thus presenting a chaos of
ethnical and linguistic , elements comparable to that which
prevails along the north-west coast.- Of these rude popula-
tions one of the most widespread arfe the Otomi ._„ .
of the central region, noted for the monosyllabic
that would have been celebrated by the Nahuas with hecatombs of victims.
Human sacrifices did however take place" (De Nadaillac, p. 266), though they
were as nothing corrlpared with the countless victims demanded by the Aztec gods.
"The dedication by Ahui^otl of the great temple of Huitzilopochtli in 1487 is
alleged to have been celebrated by the butchery of 72,344 victims," and " under
Montezuma II. 12,000 captives are said to have perished" on one occasion {ib.
p. 297) ; all no doubt-gross exaggerations, but leaving a large. margin for perhaps the
most terrible chapter of horrors in the records of natural religions. Cf. T. A. Joyce,
Mexican Archaeology, pp. 261-2.
' A popular and well-illustrated account of Huichols and Tarascos, as also of
the Tarahumare farther north, is given by Carl Lumholtz, Unknown Mexico, 2 vols.
New York, 1902.
^ Cf. Hans Gadow, Through Southern Mexico, 1908, map p. 296, also p. 314.
3 Quoted by De Nadaillac, p. 365. * p. 363.
396 Man : Past and Present [ch.
tendencies of their language, which Najera, a native gram-
marian, has on this ground compared with Chinese, from
which, however, it is fundamentally distinct. Still more
primitive are the Seri Indians of Tiburon island in the Gulf
of California and the adjacent mainland, who were visited in
1895 by W. J. McGee, and found to be probably more isolated
and savage than any other tribe remaining on the North
American Continent. They hunt, fish, and collect vegetable
food, and most of their food is eaten raw, they have no
domestic animals save dogs, they are totally without agri-
culture, and their industrial arts are few and rude. They use
the bow and arrow but have no knife. Their houses are
flimsy huts. They make- pottery and rafts of canes. The
Seri are loosely organised in a number of exogamic, matri-
lineal, totemic clans. Mother-right obtains to a greater extent
perhaps than in any other people. At marriage the husband
becomes a privileged guest in the wife's mother's household,
and it is only in the chase . or on the war-path that men take
an important place. Polygyny prevails. The mo^t conspicuous
ceremony is the girls' puberty feast. The dead are buried in
a contracted position. " The strongest tribal characteristic is
implacable animosity towai"ds aliens In their estimation the
brightest virtue is the shedding of alien blood, while the
blackest crime in their calendar is alien conjugal union \"
It is noteworthy that but few traces of such savagery have
yet been discovered in Yucatan. The investigations of Henry ■
Mercer^ in this region lend strong support to Forstemann's
views regarding the early H uaxtecan migrations and the
general southward spread of Maya culture from the Mexican
table-land. Nearly thirty caves examined by this
YucSm.^" *" explorer failed to yield any remains either of the
mastodon, mammoth, and horse, or of early man,
elsewhere so often associated with these animals. Hence
Mercer infers that the Mayas reached Yucatan already in an
advanced state of culture, which remained unchanged till the
conquest. In the caves were found great quantities of good
pottery, generally well baked and of symmetrical form, the
oldest quite as good as the latest where they occur in stratified
beds, showing no progress anywhere.
The caves of Loltun (Yucatan) and Copan (Honduras),
' iTth Ann. Rep. Bur. Am. Eth. 1895-6, Pt. I (1898), p. 11.
^ The Hill Caves of Yucatan, New York, 1903.
xij xhe American Aborigines 2)91
examined by E. H. Thompson and G. Byron-Gordon, yielded
pre- Mayan debris from the deep strata. Perhaps this very
ancient population was of the same race as the little known
tribes still living in the forests of Honduras and San Sal-
vador\
Since the conquest the Aztecs, and other cultured nations
of Anahuac, have yielded to European influences to a far
greater extent than the Maya-Quiche of Yucatan and Guate-
mala. In the city of Mexico the Nahuatl tongue has almost
died out, and this place has long been a leading centre of
Spanish arts and letters' ; yet the Mexicans yearly celebrate
a feast in memory of their great ancestors who died in defence
of their country'. But Merida, standing on the site of the
ancient Ti-ho6, has almost again become a Maya town, where
the white settlers themselves have been largely assimilated in
speech and usages to the natives. The very streets are still
indicated by the carved images of the hawk,
flamingo, or other tutelar deities, while the houses ^-da^^^*
of the suburbs continue to be built in the old
Maya style, two or three feet above the street level, with
a walled porch and stone bench running round the enclosure.
One reason for this remarkable contrast may be that the
Nahua culture, as above seen, was to a great extent borrowed
in relatively recent times, whereas the Maya civilisation is now
shown to date from the epoch of the Tolan and Cholulan
pyramid-builders. Henge the former yielded to the first shock,
while the latter still persists to some extent in Yucatan. Here
about looo A.D. the cities of Chichen-Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan
■formed a confederacy in which each was to share equally in
the government of the country. Under the peaceful conditions
of the next two centuries followed the second and last great
Maya epoch, the Age of Architecture, as it has been termed,
as opposed to the first epoch, the Age of Sculpture, from the
second to the sixth century a.d. During this earlier epoch
flourished the great cities of the south, Palenque, Quirigua,
Copan, and others\ Despite their more gentle disposition,
1 H. Beuchat, Manuel d' ArMologie amdricaine, 1912, p. 407.
2 " In the city of Mexico everything has a Spanish look" (Brocklehurst, Mexico
To-day, p. 15). The Aztec language however is still current in the surrounding
districts and generally in the provinces forming part of the former Aztec empire.
3 C. Lumholtz, Unknown Mexico, 11. p. 480 ; cf. pp. 477-8°-
« Sylvanus Griswold Morley, "An Introduction to the Study of the Maya
Hieroglyphs," Bur. Am. Eth. Bull. 57, 1915. PP- 2-5-
398 Man: Past and Present [ch.
as expressed in the softer and almost feminine lines of their
features, the Mayas held out more valiantly than the Aztecs
against the Spaniards, and a section of the nation occupying
a strip of territory between Yucatan and British Honduras,
still maintains its independence. The "barbarians," as the
inhabitants of this district are called, would appear to be
scarcely less civilised than their neighbours, although they
have forgotten the teachings of the padres, and transformed
the Catholic churches to wayside inns. Even as it is the
descendants of the Spaniards have to a great extent forgotten
their mother-tongue, and Maya-Quich^ dialects are almost
everywhere current except in the Campeachy district. Those
also who call themselves Catholics preserve and practise many
of the old rites. After burial the track from the grave to the
house is carefully chalked, so that the soul of the departed
may know the way back when the time comes to enter the
body of some new-born babe. The descendants of the national
astrologers everywhere pursue their arts, determining events,
forecasting the harvests and so on by. the conjunctions of the
stars, and every village has its native " Zadkiel " who reads
the future in the ubiquitous crystal globe. Even certain priests
continue to celebrate the " Field Mass," at which a cock is
sacrificed to the Mayan Aesculapius, with invocations to the
Trinity and their associates, the four genii of the rain and
crops. " These tutelar deities, however, have taken Christian
names, the Red, or God of the E^st, having become St
Dominic; the White, or God of the North, St Gabriel; the
Black, or God of the West, St Ja.mes; and the 'Yellow
Goddess' of the South, Mary Magdalene'."
To the observer passing from the northern to the southern!
division of the New World no marked contrasts are at first
Transitions perceptible, either in the physical appearance,
from North to or in the social condition of the aborigines. The
South America, substantial uniformity, which in these respects
prevails from the Arctic to the Austral waters, is in fact
well illustrated by the comparatively slight differences pre-
sented by the primitive populations dwelling north and south
of the Isthmus of Panama.
At the discovery the West Indies were inhabited by two'
^ E. Reclus, Universal Geography, xvil. p. 156.
^^O The American Aborigines 399
distinct peoples, both appareatly of South American origin.
The populations of the Greater Antilles, Cuba, Jamaica, Santo
♦ Domingo and Porto Rico were of Arawak stock, as were also
the Lucayans of the Bahamas. The Lesser Antilles were
peopled by Caribs, whose culture had been somewhat modified
by the Arawaks who had preceded them. As regards in-
fluences from the north-west and west, Joyce considers' that
intercourse between Yucatan and Western Cuba was con-
fined to occasional trading voyages and did not long antedate
the arrival of the Spaniards. The same applies to Florida
where, however, Antillean influences may be traced, especially
in pottery designs'. According to Beuchat, however, the
Guacanabibes of Cuba are of common origin with the Tekestas
of Florida. Other tribes from Florida spread to the Bahamas,
Cuba', and perhaps Hayti, but were checked by Arawaks from
South America who mastered the whole of the West Indies.
Last came the more vigorous but less advanced Caribs, also
from the southern mainland (of Arawak origin according to
Joyce and Beuchat). The statement of Columbus that the
Lucayans' were " of good size, with large eyes and broader
foreheads than he had ever seen in any other race of men " is
fully borne out by the character of some old skulls from the
Bahamas measured by W. K. Brooks, who regarded them as
belonging to "a well-marked type of the North American
Indian race which was at that time distributed over the
Bahama Islands, Hayti, and the greater part of Cuba. As
thes^ islands are only a few miles from the peninsula of
Florida, this race must at some time have inhabited at least
the south-eastern extremity of the continent, and it is there-
fore extremely interesting to note that the North American
crania which exhibit the closest resemblance to those from
* T. A. Joyce, Central American and West Indian Archaeology, 1916, pp. 157,
256-7. An admirable account is given of the material culture and mode of life of
these peoples at the time of the discovery.
* The rapid disappearance of the Cuban aborigines has been the subject of
much comment. Between the years 1512-32 all but some 4000 had perished,
although they are supposed to have originally numbered about A million, distri-
buted in 30 tribal groups, whose names and territories have all been carefully
preserved. But they practically offered no resistance to the ruthless Conquista-
dores, and it was a Cuban chief who even under torture refused to be baptized,
declaring that he would never enter the same heaven as the Spaniard. One is
reminded of the analogous cases of Jarl Hakon, the Norseman, and the Saxon
Witikind, who rejected Christianity, preferring to share the lot of their pagan fore-
fathers in the next world.
3 H. Beuchat, pp. 507-11, 526-8.
400 Man : Past and Present [ch.
the Bahama Islands have been obtained from Florida'."
This observer dwells on the solidity and massiveness of the
Lucayan skulls, which bring them into direct relation with .
the races both of the Mississippi plains and of the Brazilian
and Venezuelan coast-lands, though the general ethnography
of Panama and Costa Rica reveals no active influence exerted
by tribes of Colombia and Venezuela, except in eastern
Panama ^
Equally close is the connection established between the
surviving Isthmian and Colombian peoples of the Atrato and
Magdalena basins. The Chontal of Nicaragua
Choc^'^"^ are scarcely to be distinguished from some of
the Santa Marta hillmen, while the Choco and
perhaps the Cuna of Panama have been affiliated to the
Choco of the Atrato and. San Juan rivers. The cultural
connection between the tribes of the Isthmus and of Colombia
appears especially in the gold-work and pottery of the Chi-
riqui; at the Chiriqui Lagoon, however, Nahuan influence
is perceptible ^ Attempts, which however can hardly be
regarded as successful, have even been made to establish
linguistic relations between the Costa Rican Guatuso and
the Timote of the Merida uplands of Venezuela, who are
themselves a branch of the formerly widespread Muyscan
family.
But with these Muyscans we at once enter a new ethnical
and cultural domain, in which may be studied the resemblances
due to the common origin of all the American aborigines,
and the divergences due obviously to long isolation and in-
dependent local developments in the two continental divisions.
In general the southern populations present more violent
contrasts than the northern in their social and intellectual
developments, so that while the wild tribes touch a lower
depth of savagery, some at least of the civilised peoples rise
to a higher degree of excellence, if not in letters — where the
inferiority is manifest — certainly in the arts of engineering,
architecture, agriculture, and political organisation. Thus we
need not travel many miles inland from the Isthmus without
meeting the Catio, a wild tribe between the Atrato and the
' Paper read before the National Academy of Sciences, America, 1890.
^ T. A. Joyce, p. 2, who deals with the archaeology, as far as it is known as yet,
of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Cf. especially linguistic map at p. 30 for
distribution of tribes.
' T. A. Joyce, South American Archaeology, 1912, p. 7.
xi] The American Aborigines 401
Cauca, more degraded even than the Seri of Tiburon island,
most debased of all North American hordes, th r ti
These Catio, a now nearly extinct branch of the
Choco stock, were said to dwell like the anthropoid apes, in
the branches of trees ; they mostly went naked, and were
reported, like the Mangbattus and other Congo negroes, to
"fatten their captives for the table." Their Darien neigh-
bours of the Nore valley, who gave an alternative name to
the Panama peninsula, were accustomed to steal the women
of hostile tribes, cohabit with them, and carefully bring up
the children till their fourteenth year, when they were eaten
with much rejoicing, the mothers ultimately sharing the same
fate'; and the Cocoma of the Marafion "were in the habit
of eating their own dead relations, and grinding their bones
to drink in their fermented liquor. They said it was better
to be inside a friend than to be swallowed up by the cold
earth^" In fact of the Colombian aborigines Herrera tells us
that "the living are the grave of the dead; for the husband
has been seen to eat his wife, the brother his brother or sister,
the son his father; captives also are eaten roasted'."
Thus is raised the question of cannibalism in the New
World, where at the discovery it was incomparably more
prevalent south than north of the equator. Compare the
Eskimo and the' Fuegians at the two extremes, the former
practically exonerated of the charge, and in distress sparing
wives and children and eating their dogs; the latter sparing
their dogs because useful for catching otters, and smoking
and eating their old women because useless for further pur-
poses^ In the north the taste for human flesh had declined,
and the practice survived only as a ceremonial rite, chiefly
amongst the British Columbians and the Aztecs, except of
course in case of famine, when even the highest races are
capable of devouring their fellows. But in the south canni-
balism in some of its most repulsive forms was common enough
almost everywhere. Killing and eating feeble and aged
> "The travels of P. de Cieza de Leon" (Hakluyt Soc. 1864, p. 50 f.)-
2 Sir C. R. ^iarkham, "List of Tribes," etc., Journ. Roy. Anth. Inst.^l. 1910,
p. 95. " This idea was widespread, and many Amazonian peoples declared they
preferred to be eaten by their friends than by worms."
3 Quoted by Steinmetz, Endokannibalismus, p. 19.
* C. VtAtmn, Journal of Researches, 1889, p. 155. Tljanks to their frequent
contact with Europeans since the expeditions of Fitzroy and Darwin, the'Fuegiajis
have given up the practice, hence the doubts or denials of Bridges, Hyades, .and
other later observers.
K.
26
402 Man : Past and Present [ch.
members of the tribe in kindness is still general ; but the
Mayorunas of the Upper Amazon waters do not wait till they
have grown lean with years or wasted with disease'; and it
was a baptized member of the same tribe who complained on
his death-bed that he would not now provide a meal for his
Christian friends, but must be devoured by worms^
In the southern continent the social conditions illustrated
by these practices prevailed everywhere, except on the
elevated plateaus of the western Cordilleras,
Andean^^ea''* which for many ages before the discovery had
been the seats of several successive cultures, in
some respects rivalling, but in others much inferior to those
of Central America. When the Conquistadores reached this
part of the New World, to which they were attracted by the
not altogether groundless reports of fabulous wealth embodied
in the legend oi El Dorado, the " Man of Gold," they found
it occupied by a cultural zone which extended almost con-
tinuously from the present republic of Cplombia through
Th rhh h Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia right into Chili. In
the north the dominant people were the semi-
civilised Chibcha, already mentioned under the name of
Muysca', who had developed an organised system of govern-
ment on the Bogota table-land, and had succeeded in extending
their somewhat more refined social institutions to some of the
other aborigines of Colombia, though not to many of the out-
lying members of their own race. As in Mexico many of the
Nahuatlan tribes remained little better than savages to the
last, so in Colombia the civilised Muyscans were surrounded by
numerous kindred tribes — Coyaima, Natagaima, Tocaima and
others, collectively known as Panches — who were real savages
with scarcely any tribal organisation, wearing no clothes, and
according to the early accounts still addicted to cannibalism.
The Muysca proper had a tradition that they owed their
superiority to their culture-hero Bochica, who came from the
east long ago, taught them everything, and was then placed
with Chiminigagua, the creator, at the head of their pantheon,
* V. Martius, Zur Ethnographie Brasiliens, 1867, p. 430.
* Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Ethics, 1892, I. p. 330.
' The national name was Muysca, " Men," " Human Body," and the number
twenty (in reference to the ten fingers and ten toes making up that score).
Chibcha was a mimetic name having allusion to the sound ch (as in Charles),
which is of frequent recurrence in the Muysca language. With man = 20, cf. the
Bellacoola (British Columbia) 19=1 man- i ; 20=1 man, etc.; and this again with
Lat. undeviginti.
xi] The American Aborigines 403
and worshipped with solemn rites and even human sacrifices.
Amongst the arts thus acquired was that of the goldsmith, in
which they surpassed all other peoples of the New World.
The precious metal was even said to be minted in the shape
of discs, which formed an almost solitary instance of a true
metal currency amongst the American aborigines'. Brooches,
pendants, and especially grotesque figurines of gold, often
alloyed with silver and copper, have been found in great
numbers and still occasionally turn up on the plateau. These
finds are partly accounted for by the practice of offering such
objects in the open air to the personified constellations and
forces of nature, for the primitive religion of all the Andean
tribes consisted of nature-, in particular sun-cults. Near Bo-
gota was a temple of the Sun, where children were reared for
sacrificed Any mysterious sound emanating from a forest,
a rock, a mountain pass, or gloomy gorge, was accepted as
a manifestation of some divine presence ; a shrine was raised
to the embodied spirit, and so the whole land became literally
crowded with local deities. This world itself was upborne on
the shoulders of Chibchacum, a national Atlas, who now and
then eased himself by shifting the burden, and thus caused
earthquakes. In most lands subject to underground disturb-
ances analogous ideas prevail, and when their source is so
obvious, it seems unreasonable to seek for explanations in
racial affinities, contacts, foreign influences, and so forth.
It has often been remarked that at the advent of the whites
the native civilisations seemed generally stricken as if by the
hand of death, so that even if not suddenly arrested by the
intruders they must sooner or later have perished of them-
selves. Such speculations are seldom convincing, because we
never know what recuperative forces may be at work to ward
off the evil day. When the Spaniards arrived in Colombia
they found at one end of the scale naked and savage canni-
bals, at the other a people with a feudal form of government,
whose political system was progressive, who, though possessing
no form of writing, had a system of measures and a calendar,
and who were skilled in the arts of weaving, pottery, and
metallurgy\ The chiefs of the Chibcha were all absolute
monarchs and the appointment of priests rested with them.
' W. BoUaert, Antiquarian, Ethnological, and other Researches in New
Granada, etc. ii6o, passim.
2 T. A. Joyce, South American Archaeology, 1912, p. 28. ^ Ibid. p. 44.
26 — 2
404 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Succession to the chieftainship was matrilineal, and installation
in the office was attended by much ceremony. A great gulf
separated nobles and commoners ; slavery existed as an insti-
tution but slaves were well treated. Polygyny was permitted,
but relatives within certain degrees might not marry\ This
feebly organised political system broke to pieces at the first
shock from without, and so disheartened had the people become
under their half theocratic rulers, that they scarcely raised a
hand in defence of a government which in their minds was
associated only with tyranny and oppression. The conquest
was in any case facilitated by the civil war at the time raging
between the northern and southern kingdoms which with
several other semi-independent states constituted the Muyscan
empire. This empire was almost conterminous southwards
with that of the Incas. At least the numerous terms occur-
ring in the dialects of the Paes, Coconucos, and other South
Colombian tribes, show that Peruvian influences had spread
beyond the political frontiers far to the. north, without, how-
ever, quite reaching the confines of. the Muyscan domain.
But for several centuries prior to the discovery the sway
of the Peruvian Incas had been established throughout nearly
the whole of the Andean lands, and the territory
Empire of the directly ruled by them extended from the Quito
district about the equator for some 2500 miles
southwards to the Rio Maule in Chili,, with an average breadth
of 400 miles between the Pacific and the eastern slopes of the
Cordilleras. Their dominion thus comprised a considerable
part of the present republics of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili,
and Argentina, with a roughly estimated area of 1,000,000
square miles, and a population of over 10,000,000. Here the
ruling race were the Quichua, whose speech,
mid*Speech ^^^ called by themselves ruma-simi, " the language
of men," is still current in several well-marked
dialects throughout. all the provinces of the old empire. In
Lima and all the seaports and inland towns Spanish prevails,
but in the rural districts Quichuan remains the mother-tongue
of over 2,000,000 natives, and has even become the lingua
franca of the western regions, just as Tupi-Guarani is the
lingoa geral, "general language," of the eastern section of
South America. The attempts to find affinities with Aryan
(especially Sanskrit), and other linguistic families of the
' T. A. Joyce, loc. cit. pp. 18-22.
XI J The American Aborigines 405
eastern hemisphere, have broken down before the applica-
tion of sound philological principles to these studies, and
Quichuan is now recognised as a stock language of the usual
American type, unconnected with any other except that of the
Bolivian Aymaras. Even this connection is regarded by some
students as verbal rather than structural, an interchange of a
considerable number of terms being easily explained by the
close contact in which the two peoples have long dwelt.
As to the origin of the Incas we cannot do better than
follow the views of Sir Clements Markham, who has made a
careful study of the various early authorities.
His account {The Incas of Peru, 19 10) is ^."d^HistS^
based largely on the works of Spanish military
writers such as Ciezo de Leon and Pedro Pizarro (cousin
of the conqueror), of priests like Molina, Montesinos,
and the half-breed Bias Valera, and on those of the Inca
Garcilasso de la Vega, son of a Spanish knight and an Inca
princess. The megalithic ruins of Tiahuanacu, at the southern
end of Lake Titicaca, mark the earliest known centre of
culture in southern Peru. They are situated on a lofty pla-
teau, over 13,000 feet above the sea, and are the remains of
a great city built by highly skilled masons who used enormous
stones. The placing of such monoliths, unrivalled except by
those of ancient Egypt, indicates a dense and well-organised
population. The famous monolithic doorway is elaborately
carved, the central figure apparently representing the deity,
while on either side are figures, human- or bird-headed,
kneeling in adoration {pp. cit., pis. at pp. 26, 28). Now it
seems probable that the builders of this megalithic city were
the ancestors of the Incas, assuming that a substratum of
truth underlies the Paccari-tampu myth.
The end of the early civilisation is stated to have been
caused by a great invasion from the south, when the king was
killed in a battle in the Collao, north of Lake Titicaca. A
state of barbarism ensued. A remnant of the royal house took
refuge in a district called Tampu-Tocco ("Window Tavern")^
and there preserved a vestige of their ancient traditions and
civilisation. Elsewhere religion deteriorated to nature worship,
here the kings declared themselves to be children of the sun,
1 Markham locates it in the province of Paruro, department of Cuzco ; Hiram
Bingham, director of the Peruvian Expeditions of the Nat. Geog. Soc. and Yale
University, identifies it with Machu Picchu {Nat. Geog. Mag., Washington, D. C,
Feb. 1915, p. 172)-
4o6 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Montesinos' list of kings gives 27 names for this period of
Tampu-Tocco, which may cover 650 years.
The myth, which is "certainly the outcome of a real
tradition,... the fabulous version of a distant historical event,"
tells how Manco Ccapac and the three other Ayars, his
brothers, the children of the sun, came forth with their wives
from the central opening or window in the hill Tampu-Tocco.
They advanced slowly at the head of several ayllus (lineages),
Ayar Manco took the lead, and he had with him a falcon-like
bird revered as sacred, and a golden staff which he flung
ahead ; when it reached soil so fertile that the whole length
sank in, there the final halt was to be made. This happened
in the fertile vale of Cuzco. The date of these events would
be about four centuries before the Spanish conquest.
Farther north at about 15° S. lat. the Inca civilisation was
preceded, according to Uhle, by the very ancient one of lea
and Nazca, where dwelt a people who made pottery but were
ignorant of weaving. The same authority has also discpvered
about Lima the remains of a tall people, who made rude
pottery, nets, and objects of bone^
Manco established himself in the Cuzco valley, his third
successor finally subjugating the tribes there. The early
position of the Incas, cemented by judicious marriages, seems
to have been one of priority in a very loose confederacy. The
rise of the Incas was due to the ambition of the lady Siuyacu
whose son, Inca Rocca, appears to have been the pioneer of
empire; material prosperity began under him, schools were
erected and irrigation works begun. Then from a strip of
land 250 miles long between the gorge of the Apurimac and
the wide fertile valley of Vilcamayu, the empire was extended
to form the Ttahua-ntin-suyu, "the four provinces," of which
the northern one, Chlnchay-suyu, reached to Quito, and the
southern, Colla-suyu, into Chili. This southward extension
was due to the efforts of Pachacuti who succeeded after hard
fighting in annexing the region around Lake Titicaca, and
the new territory was named after the Collas, the largest and
most powerful tribe thereabouts. In order to pacify the region
permanently large numbers of Collas were sent as mitimaes,
or colonists, as far as the borders of Quito, while their places
1 H. Beuchat, pp. 573-5. For culture sequences in the Andean area see
P. A. Means, Proc. Nineteenth Internat. Congress of Americanists, 1917, p. 236 ff.,
and Man, 1918, No. 91.
xi] The American Aborigines 407
were filled by loyal colonistsi from Inca districts. Among these
were a number of Aymaras from the Quichuan .^^ ^ ^^^^
region of the Pachachaca, a left bank tributary * T^'^^-
of the Apurimac, who were settled among the remaining
Lupacas on the west shore of Lake Titicaca at Juli. Thither
came Jesuit fathers in 1572 and learnt the language of the
Lupacas from these Aymara colonists, who had been there
three generations ; the name Aymara was given by the priests
not only to the Lupaca language but to those spoken by Collas
and other Titicacan tribes. Thus the name Aymara is now
generally but quite erroneously applied to the language and
people of this region; it was first so used in 1575. It must
be pointed out, however, that other authorities regard the
Aymara and Quichua as entirely distinct. A. Chervin^ dis-
cusses the physical differences at great length and concludes
that they are two separate brachycephalic peoples.
The Peruvians were primarily agriculturists, maize and at
higher altitudes the potato being their chief crops. Their
aqueducts and irrigation systems moved the admiration of
early chroniclers, as did also their roads and suspension
bridges^ The supreme deity and creator was Uira-cocha,
who was worshipped by the more intellectual and had a temple
at Cuzco. The popular religion was the worship of the founder
of each ayllu, or clan, and all joined in adoration of the sun as
ancestor of the sovereign Incas. Sun-worship was attended
by a magnificent ritual, the high priest was an official
of highest rank, often a brother of the sovereign, and there
were over 3000 Virgins of the Sun {aclla) connected with the
cult at Cuzco. The peasants put their trust in conopas, or
household gods, which controlled their crops and their llamas.
The calendar had been calculated with considerable ingenuity,
and certain festivals took place annually and were usually
accompanied with much chicha-drinking. It is remarkable
that so advanced a people kfept all their elaborate records by
means of quipus (coloured strings with knots).
Here is not the place to enter into the details of the as-
tonishing architectural, engineering, and artistic remains, often
assigned to the Incas, whose empire had absorbed ,^^^ Q.\xasm
in the north the old civilisation of the Chimu,
' Anthropologit Bolivienne, 3 vols. Paris, 1907-8.
2 An admirable account of the material culture of Peru is given by T. A. Joyce,
South American Archaeology, 1912, cap. vi.
4o8 ■ Man : Past and Present [ch.
perhaps of the Atacameno, and other cultured peoples whose
very names have perished. The Yunga (Mochica or Chimu),
conquered by the IncaTupac Yupanqui, had a language radically
distinct from Quichuan, but have long been assimilated to their
conquerors.
The ruins of Grand Chimu (modern Trujillo) cover a vast
area, nearly 15 miles by 6, which is everywhere strewn with
the remains of palaces, reservoirs, aqueducts, ramparts, and
especially kuacas, that is, truncated pyramids not unlike those
of Mexico, whence the theory that the Chimus, of unknown
origin, were " Toltecs " from Central America. One of these
huacas is described by Squier as 150 feet high with a base
580 feet square, and an area of 8 acres, presenting from a
distance the appearance of a huge crater'. Still larger is the
so-called " Temple of the Sun," 800 by 470 feet, 200 feet high,
and covering an area of 7 acres. An immense population of
hundreds of thousands was assigned to this place in pre-lnca
times; but from some rough surveys made in 1897 it would
appear that much of the space withiti the enclosures consists
of waste lands, which had never been built over, and it is
calculated that at no time could the number of inhabitants
have greatly exceeded 50,000.
We need not stop to describe the peculiar civil and social
institutions of the Peruvians, which are of common knowledge,
Peruvian Enough to say that here everything was planned
Political ■ in the interests of the theocratic and all-powerful
System. Incas, who were more than obeyed, almost
honoured with divine worship by their much bethralled and
priest-ridden subjects. " The despotic authority of the Incas
was the basis of government; that authority was founded on
the religious respect yielded to the descendant of the sun, and
supported by a skilfully combined hierarchy"." From remote
antiquity the peoples of this area were organised into ayllus
each occupying part of a valley or a limited area. It was a
patriarchal system, land belonging to the ayllu, which was
a group of families. The Incas systematised this institution,
the ayllu was made to comprise 100 families under a village
officer who annually allotted land to the heads of families.
Each family was divided by the head into 10 classes based
on age. Ten ayllus (now \.^xme.6. pachacas) formed a huaranca.
' Peru, p. 120.
2 De Nadaillac, Pre-Hisiortc America, 1885, p. 438.
xi] The Americun Aborigines 409
A valley with a varying number of kuarancas was termed a
hunu ; over four hunus there was an imperial officer. " This
was indeed Socialism," Markham observes, "existing under an
inexorable despotism" (p. 169).
Beyond the Maule, southernmost limits of all these
effete civilisations, man reasserted himself in the " South
American Iroquois," as those Chilian aborigines, TheArauca-
have been called who called themselves Molu-che, wans.
" Warriors," but are better known by their Quichuan designa-
tion of yi«fa^.y, "Rebels," whence the Spanish Aucans(Araucan,
Araucanian). These " Rebels," who have never hitherto been
' overcome by the arms of any f)eople, and whose heroic deeds
in the long wars waged by the white intruders against their
freedom form the topic of a noble Spanish epic poem', still
maintain a measure of national autonomy as the friends and
faithful allies of the Chilian republic. Individual freedom and
equality were leading features of the social system which was
in the main patriarchal. The Araucanians were led by four
independent chiefs, each supported by five ulmen, or district
chiefs, whose office was hereditary but whose authority was
little more than nominal. It was only in time of national
warfare that the tribes united under a war-chieP. Not only
are all the tribes absolutely free, but the same is true of every
clan, sept, and family group. Needless to say, there are no
slaves or serfs. " The law of retaliation was the only one
understood, although the commercial spirit of the Araucano
led him to forego personal revenge for its accruing profit.
Thus every injury had its price'."
The basis of their belief is a rude form of nature worship,
the principal deities being malignant and requiring propitiation.
The chief god was Pillan, the thunder god. Spirits of the
dead go west over the sea to a place of abundance where no
evil spirits have entry*. And this simple belief is almost the
only substitute for the rewards and punishments which supply
the motive for the observance of an artificial ethical code in
so many more developed religious systems.
In the sonorous Araucanian language, which is still spoken
by about 40,000 full-blood natives^ the term che, meaning
' Alonzo de Ercilla's Araucana.
2 T. A. Joyce, South American Archaeology, 1912, p. 243; R. E. Latham,
"Ethnology of the Araucanos,"/'!'"''^- Roy- ^nth. Inst, xxxix. 1909, p. 355.
3 Latham, p. 356. * Ibid. pp. 344-50.
4IO Man: Past and Present [ch.
"people," occurs as the postfix of several ethnical groups,
which, however, are not tribal but purely territorial divisions.
Thus, while Molu-che is -the collective name of the whole
nation, the Picun-cke, Huilli-che, and Puel-che are simply the
North, South, and East men respectively. The Central and
most numerous division are the Puen-che^ that is, people
of the pine district, who are both the most typical and most
intelligent of all the Araucanian family. Ehrenreich's remark
that many of the American aborigines resemble Europeans as
much as or even more than the Asiatic Mongols, is certainly
borne out by the facial expression of these Puenche. The
resemblance is even extended to the mental characters, as
reflected in their oral literature. Amongst the specimens of
the national folklore preserved in the Puenche dialect and
edited with Spanish translations by Rodolfo Lenz\ is the
story of a departed lover, who returns from the other world
to demand his betrothed and carries her off to his grave.
Although this might seem an adaptation of Burger's "Lenore,"
Lenz is of opinion that it is a genuine Araucanian legend.
Of the above-mentioned groups the Puelche are now
included politically in Argentina. Their original home seems
to have been north of the Rio Negro, but they
liM^ns"*^*^ raided westwards and some adopted the Arau-
canian language'' and to them also the Chilian
affix <:^^ has also been extended. Indeed the term Puelche,
meaning simply " Easterns," is applied not only to the Argen-
tine Moluche, whose territory stretches east of the Cordilleras
as far as Mendoza in Cuyo, but also to all the aborigines
commonly called Pampeans [Pampas Indians) by the Euro-
peans and Penek by the Patagonians. Under the designation
of Puelche would therefore be comprised the now extinct
Ranqualche (Ranqueles), who formerly raided up to Buenos^
Ayres and the other Spanish settlements on the Plate River,
the Mapoche of the Lower Salado, and generally all the
nomads as far south as the Rio Negro.
These aborigines are now best represented by the Gauchos,
who are mostly Spaniards on the father's side and Indians
on the mother's, and reflect this double descent
in their half-nomadic, half-civilised life. These
Gauchos, who are now also disappearing before the encroach-
1 In the Anales de la Universidad de Chile for 1897.
^ T. A. Joyce, p. 240.
xi] The American Aborigines 411
ments of the "Gringos'," i.e. the white immigrants from
almost every country in Europe, have been enveloped in an
ill-deserved halo of romance, thanks mainly to their roving
habits, splendid horsemanship, love of finery, and genial dis-
position combined with that innate grace and courtesy which
belongs to all of Spanish blood. But those who knew them
best described them as of sordid nature, cruel to their women-
kind, reckless gamblers and libertines, ruthless political par-
tisans, at times even religious fanatics without a spark of true
religion, and at heart little better than bloodthirsty savages.
Beyond the Rio Negro follow the gigantic Patagonians,
that is, the Tehuelche or Chuelche of the Araucanians, who
have no true collective name unless it be Tsoneca,
a word of uncertain use and origin. Most of the '"•^.P**^-
tribal groups — Yacana, Pilma, Chao and others
— are broken up, and the former division between the Northern
Tehuelche (Tehuelhet), comprising the Callilehet (Serranos or
Highlanders) of the Upper Chupat, with the Calilan between
the Rios Chupat and Negro, and the Southern Tehuelche
(Yacana, Sehuan, etc.), south to Fuegia, no longer holds
good since the general displacement of all these fluctuating
nomad hordes. A branch of the Tehuelche are unquestion-
ably the Ona of the eastern parts of Fuegia, the true aborigines
of which are the Yahgans of the central and the Alakalufs of
the western islands.
Hitherto to the question whence came these tall Pata-
gonians, no answer could be given beyond the suggestion
that they may have been specialised in their present habitat,
where nevertheless they seem to be obviously intruders. Now,
however, one may perhaps venture to look for their original
home amongst the Bororo of Matto Grosso, a once powerful
race who held the region between the Rios Cuyaba and
Paraguay. These Bororo, who had been heard of by Martius,
were visited by Ehrenreich^ and by Karl von den Steinen^
who found them to be a nomadic hunting people with a
remarkable social organisation centring in the men's club-
house {baitd). Their physical characters, as described by the
former observer, correspond closely with those of the Pata-
' Properly Griegos, " Greeks," so called because supposed to speak " Greek,"
i.e. any language other than Spanish,
2 Urbewohner Brasiliens, 1897, pp. 69, no, 125.
3 Unter den Naturvolkem Zfntral-Brasiliens, 1894, pp. 441-3, 468 ff.
412 Man: Past and Present [gh.
gonians: "An exceptionally tall race rivalling the South Sea
Islanders, Patagonians, and Redskins; by far the tallest
Indians hitherto discovered within the tropics," their stature
ranging nearly up to 6 ft. 4 in., with very large and rounded
heads (men 81-2; women "JTA)- With this should be com-
pared the very large round old Patagonian skull from the
Rio Negro, measured by Rudolf Martin'. The account reads
like the description of some forerunner of a prehistoric Bororo
irruption into the Patagonian steppe lands.
To the perplexing use of the term Puelche above referred
to is perhaps due the difference of opinion still prevailing on
the number of stock languages in this southern section of
the Continent. D'Orbigny's emphatic statement' that the
Puelche spoke a language fundamentally distinct both from
the Araucanian and the Patagonian has been
Rdftions*? questioned on the strength of some Puelche
words, which were collected by Hale at Carmen
on the Rio Negro, and differ but slightly from Patagonian.
But the Rio Negro lies on the ethnical divide between the
two races, which sufficiently accounts for the resemblances,
while the words are too few to prove anything. Hale calls
them "Southern Puelche," but they werfe in fact Tehuelche
(Patagonian), the true Pampean Puelche having disappeared
from that region before Hale's time^ I have now the un-
impeachable authority of T. P. Schmid, for many years a
missionary amongst these aborigines, for asserting that
d'Orbigny's statement is absolutely correct. His Puelche
were the Pampeans, because he locates them in the region
between the Rios Negro and Colorado, that is, north of
Patagonian and east of Araucanian territory, and Schmid
assures me that all three — Araucanian, Pampean, and Pata-
gonian— are undoubtedly stock languages, distinct both in their
vocabulary and structure, with nothing in common except their
common polysynthetic form. In a list of 2000 Patagonian
and Araucanian words he found only two s\\\i&i patac = 100,
and huarunc = looo, numerals obviously borrowed by the rude
' Quarterly Journal of Swiss Naturalists, Zurich, 1896, p. 496 ff.; cf. T. A.
Joyce, South American Archaeology, 1912, pp. 241-2.
^ V Homme Amiricain, II. p. 70.
' They were replaced or absorbed partly by the Patagonians, but chiefly by the
Araucanian Puelche, who many years ago migrated down the Rio Negro as far
as El Carmen and even to the coast at Bahia Blanca. Hence Hale's Puelche
were in fact Araucauians. with a Patagonian strain*
^i]. The American Aborigines 413
Tehuelche from the more cultured Moluche. In Fuegia
there is at least one radically distinct tongue, the Yahgan,
studied by Bridges. Here the Ona is probably a Patagonian
dialect, and Alakaluf perhaps remotely allied to Araucanian,
Thus in the whole region south of the Plate River the stock
languages are not known to exceed four: Araucanian; Pam-
pean (Puelche); Patagonian (Tehuelche); and Yahgan.
Few aboriginal peoples have been the subject of more
glaringly discrepant statements than the Yahgans, to whom
several lengthy monographs have been devoted
during the last few decades. How contradictory ^^^ Yahgans.
are the statements of intelligent and even trained observers,
whose good faith is beyond suspicion and who have no cause
to serve except the truth, will best be seen by placing in
juxtaposition the accounts of the family relations by G. Bove,
a well-known Italian observer, and P. Hyades of the French
Cape Horn Expedition, both summarised ': —
J Bove. Hyades.
The women are treated as slaves. The Fuegians are capable of great
The greater the number of wives or love which accounts for the jealousy
slaves a man has the easier he finds a of the men over their wives and the
living; hence polygamy is deep-rooted coquetry sometimes manifested by
and four wives common. Owing to the women and girls.
rigid climate and bad treatment the Some men have two or more wives,
mortality of children under lo years is but monogamy is the rule,
excessive; the mother's love Idsts till Children are tenderly cared for by
the child is weaned, after which it rapidly their parents, who in return are treated
wanes, and is completely gone when the by them with affection and deference,
child attains the age of 7 or 8 years. The Fuegians are of a generous dis-
The Fuegian's only lasting love is the position and like to share their pleasures
love of self As there are no family with others. The husbands exercise due
ties, the word " authority " is devoid of control, and punish severely any act of
meaning. infidelity.
These seeming contradictions may be partly explained by
the general improvement in manners due to the beneficent
action of the English missionaries in recent years, and great
progress has certainly been made since the accounts of King,
Fitz-Roy and Darwin".
But even in the more favoured regions of the Parana and
Amazon basins many tribes are met which yield little if at
1 Mission Scientifique de Cap Horn., vil., par P. Hyades et J. Deniker, 1891,
pp. 238, 243, 378.
2 For the latest information and full bibliography see J. M. Cooper, Bureau
Am. Eth. Bull. 63, 1917, and Proc. Nineteenth Internal. Congress Americanists,
1917, p. 445; also, C. W. Furlong, ibid. pp. 420 flf., 432 ff.
414 Man: Past and Present [ch.
all to the Fuegians of the early writers in sheer savagery and
debasement. Thus the Cashibo or Carapache
TheCashibo. ^^ ^^ Ucayali, who are described as "white
as Germans, with long beards\" may be said to answer almost
" better than any other human group to the old saying, homo
homini lupus. They roam the forests like wild beasts, living
almost entirely upon game, in which is included man himself
" When one of them is pursuing the chase in the woods and
hears another hunter imitating the cry of an animal, he im-
mediately makes the same cry to entice him nearer, and, if
he is of another tribe, he kills him if he can, and (as is alleged)
eats him." Hence they are naturally " in a state of hostility
with all their neighbours"."
These Cashibo, i.e. " Bats," are members of a widespread
linguistic family which in ethnological writings bears the name
of Pane, from the Pano of the Huallaga and
Fanii^"° Marafion, who are now broken up or greatly
reduced, but whose language is current amongst
the Cashibo, the Conibo, the Karipuna, the Setebo, the
Sipivio (Shipibo) and others about the head waters of the
Amazons in Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, as far east as the
Madeira. Amongst these, as amongst the Moxo and so
many other riverine tribes in Amazonia, a slow transformation
is in progress. Some have been baptized, and while still
occupying their old haunts and keeping up the tribal organi-
sation, have been induced to forego their savage ways and
turn to peaceful pursuits. They are beginning to wear clothes,
usually cotton robes of some vivid colour, to till the soil, take
service with the white traders, or even trade themselves in
their canoes up and down the tributaries of the Amazons.
Beyond the Rubber Belt, however, many tribes are quite
untouched by outside influences. The cannibal Boro and
Witoto, living between the Issa and Japura, are ignorant of
any method of. producing fire, and their women go entirely
nude, though some of their arts and crafts exhibit considerable
skill, notably the plait work and blow-pipes of the Boro*.
In this boundless Amazonian region of moist sunless
woodlands fringed north and east by Atlantic coast ranges,
diversified by the open Venezuelan llanos, and merging
1 Markham, " List of Tribes," etc., Journ. Roy. Anth. Inst. XI. 1910, pp. 89-90.
, 2 Ibid.
3 T. Whiffen, The North-West Amazons, 191 5, pp. 48, 78, 91, etc.
^i] The American Aborigines 415
southwards in the vast alluvial plains of the Parana- Para-
guay basin, much light has been brought to bear ethnical
on the obscure ethnical relations by the recent Relations in
explorations especially of Paul Ehrenreich and Amazonia.
Karl von den Steinen about the Xingu, Purus, Madeira and
other southern affluents of the great artery \ These observers
comprise the countless Brazilian aborigines in four main
linguistic divisions, which in conformity with Powell's termino-
logy may here be named the Cariban, Arawakan, Gesan and
TuPi-GuARANiAN families. There remain, however, nume-
rous groups which cannot be so classified, such as the Bororo
and Karaya of Matto Grosso, while in the relatively small
area between the Japura and the Waupes Koch-Griinberg found
two other language groups, Betoya and Maku in addition to
Carib and Arawak^
Hitherto the Caribs were commonly supposed to have had
their original homes far to the north, possibly in the Alleghany
uplands, or in Florida, where they have been
doubtfully identified with the extinct Timuqua- '^^^ Canbs.
nans, and whence they spread through the Antilles southwards
to Venezuela, the Guianas, and north-east Brazil, beyond
which they were not known to have ranged anywhere south
of the Amazons. But this view is now shown to be un-
tenable, and several Carib tribes, such as the Bakairi and
Nahuqua' of the Upper Xingn, all speaking archaic forms
of the Carib stock language, have been met by the German
explorers in the very heart of Brazil; whence the inference
that the cradle of this race is to be sought rather in the centre
of South America, perhaps on the Goyaz and Mated Grosso
table-lands, from which region they moved northwards, if not
to Florida, at least to the Caribbean Sea which is named from
them\ The wide diffusion of this stock is evidenced by the
existence of an unmistakably Carib tribe in the basin of the
Rio Magdalena beyond the Andes".
In the north the chief groups are the Makirifare of
' For the material culture of the Araguayan tribes, cf. Fritz Krause, In den
Wildnissen Brasiliens, \')\\.
2 T. Koch-Griinberg, Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern, 2 vols. Berlin, 1910.
See Vol. II. map after p. 319.
3 Ehrenreich, loc. cit. p. 45 ff. ; von den Steinen, loc. cit. p. 153 flf.
* It should be stated that a like conclusion was reached by Lucien Adam from
the vocabularies brought by Crevaux from the Upper Japura tribes— Witotos,
Corequajes, Kariginas and others— all of Carib speech.
s A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of Peoples, Cambridge, 191 1, p. 109,
4i6 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Venezuela and the Macusi, Kalina, and Galibi of British,
Dutch, and French Guiana' respectively. In general all the
Caribs present much the same physical characters, although
the southerners are rather taller (5 ft. 4in.) with less round
heads (index 79*6) than the Guiana Caribs (5 ft. 2 in., and
81-3).
Perhaps even a greater extension has been given by the
German explorers to the Arawakan family, which, like the
Cariban, was hitherto supposed to be mainly
Famit'*''^'^*" Confined to the region north of the Amazons,
but is now known to range as far south as the
Upper Paraguay, about 20° S. lat. {Layana, Kwana, etc.),
east to the Amazons estuary (Aruan), and north-west to the
Goajira peninsula. To this great family — which von den
Steinen proposes to call Nu-Aruak from the pronominal
prefix ««= I, common to most of the tribes — belong also the
Maypures of the Orinoco ; the Atarais and Vapisiana of
British Guiana ; the Manao of the Rio Negro ; the Yu-
mana ; the Paumari and Ipurina of the Ipuri basin ; the
Moxo of the Upper Mamor6, and the Mehinaku and Kus-
tenau of the Upper Xingu.
Physically the Arawaks differ from the Caribs scarcely, if
at all, more than their Amazonian and Guiana sections differ
from each other. In fact, but for their radically distinct speech
it would be impossible to constitute these two ethnical divi-
sions, which are admittedly based on linguistic grounds.
But while the Caribs had their cradle in Central Brazil and
migrated northwards, the Arawaks would appear to have
originated in eastern Bolivia, and spread thence east, north-
east and south-east along the Amazons and Orinoco and into
the Paraguay basing
Our third great Brazilian division, the Gesan family, takes
its name from the syllable ges which, like the Araucan che^
forms the final element of several tribal names
S^y^^*" in East Brazil. Of this the most characteristic
are the Aimores of the Serra dos Aimores coast
range, who are better known as Botocudo, and it was to the
kindred tribes of the province of Goyaz that the arbitrary
collective name of "Ges" was first applied by Martius. A
* Described by E. F. im Thurn, Among the Indians of Guiana, London,
1883.
^ A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of Peoples, pp. iio-ii.
xi] The American Aborigines 417
better general designation would perhaps have been Tapuya,
" Strangers," " Enemies," a term by which the Tupi people
called all other natives of that region who were not of their
race or speech, or rather who were not " Tupi," that is,
" Allies " or " Associates." Tapuya had been adopted some-
what in this sense by the early Portuguese writers, who how-
ever applied it rather loosely not only to the Aimores, but
also to a large number of kindred and other tribes as far north
as the Amazons estuary.
To the same connection belong several groups in Goyaz
already described by Milliet and Martins, and more recently
visited by Ehrenreich, von den Steinen and Krause. Such
are the Kayapo or Suya, a large nation with several divi-
sions between the Araguaya and Xingu rivers ; and the
Akua, better known as Cherentes, about the upper course
of the Tocantins. Isolated Tapuyan tribes, such as the
Kam^s or Kaingangs, wrongly called " Coroados," and the
Chogleng of Santa Catharina and Rio Grand do Sul, are
scattered over the southern provinces of Brazil.
The Tapuya would thus appear to have formerly occupied
the whole of East Brazil from the Amazons to the Plate River
for ah unknown distance inland. Here they must be regarded
as the true aborigines, who were in remote times already en-
croached upon, and broken into isolated fragments, by tribes
of the Tupi-Guarani stock spreading from the interior sea-
wards '.
But in their physical characters and extremely low cultural
state, or rather the almost total absence of anything that can
be called "culture," the Tapuya are the nearest representa-
tives and probably the direct descendants of the primitive race,
whose osseous remains have been found in the Lagoa Santa
caves, and the Santa Catharina shell-mounds (sambaqui). On
anatomic gfrounds the Botocudo are allied both ^,. „ , _,
, , o „ /- M 1 1 The Botocudo.
to the Lagoa Santa fossil man and to the sam-
baqui race by J. R. Peixoto, who describes the skull as marked
by prominent glabella and superciliary arches, keel or roof-
shaped vault, vertical lateral walls, simple sutures, receding
brow, deeply depressed nasal root, high prognathism, massive
' V. d. Steinen, Unterden Naturvolkern Zentral-Brasiliens^^. 157. "D'apr^s
Gongalves Dias les tribus brdsiliennes descendraient de deux races absolument
distinctes: la race conqudrante des Tupi...et la race vaincue, pourchassde, des
Tapuya..."; V. de Saint-Martin, p. S'?) J^ouveau Dictionnaire de Giograjihie
Universelle, 1879, A — C.
K. 27
4i8 Man: Past and Present ' [ch,
lower jaw, and long head (index 73-30) with cranial capacity
1480 c.c. for men, and 12 12 for women'. It is also note-
worthy that some of the Botocudo^ call themselves Nac-
nanuk, Nac-poruc, " Sons of the Soil," and they have no
traditions of ever having migrated from any other land. All
their implements — spears, bow and arrows, mortars, water-
vessels, bags — are of wood or vegetable fibre, so that they
may be said not to have yet reached even the stone age.
They are not, however, in the promiscuous state, as has been
asserted, for the unions, though temporary, are jealously
guarded while they last, and, as amongst the Fuegians whom
they resemble in so many respects, the women are constantly
subject to the most barbarous treatment, beaten with clubs
or hacked about with bamboo knives. One of those in
Ribeiro's party, who visited London in 1883, had her arms,
legs, and whole body covered with scars and gashes inflicted
during momentary fits of brutal rage by her ephemeral partner.
Their dwellings are mere branches stuck in the ground, bound
together with bast, and though seldom over 4 ft. in height
accommodating two or more families. The Botocudo are
pure nomads, roaming naked in the woods in quest of the
roots, berries, honey, frogs, snakes, grubs, man, and other
larger game which form their diet, and are eaten raw or else
cooked in huge bamboo canes. Formerly they had no ham-
mocks, but slept without any covering, either on the ground
strewn with bast, or in the ashes of the fire kindled for the
evening meal. About their cannibalism, which has been
doubted, there is really no question. They wore the teeth
of those they had eaten strung together as necklaces, and ate
not only the foe slain in battle, but members of kindred
tribes, all but the heads, which were stuck as trophies on
stakes and used as butts for the practice of archery.
At the graves of the dead, fires are kept up for some time
to scare away the bad spirits, from which custom the Boto-
cudo might be credited with some notitjns concerning the
supernatural. All good influences are attributed by them to
the "day-fire" (sun), all bad things to the " night-fire " (moon),
, 1 Novos Estudios Craniologicos sobre os Botocudos, Rio Janeiro, iZii, passim.
' Possibly so called from the Portuguese betoque, a barrel plug, from the wooden
plug, or disc formerly worn by all the tribes both as a lip ornament and an ear-
plug, distending the lobes like great leathern bat's-wings down to the shoulders.
But this embellishment is called tembeitera by the Brazilians, and Botocudo may
perhaps be connected with betd-apoc, the native name of the ear-plug.
xi] The American Aborigines 419
which causes the thunderstorm, and is supposed itself at times
to fall on the earth, crushing the hill-tops, flooding the plains
and destroying multitudes of people. During storms and
eclipses arrows are shot up to scare away the demons or de-
vouring dragons, as amongst so many Indo-Chinese peoples.
But beyond this there is no conception of a supreme being,
or creative force, the terms yanckong, tapan, said to mean
" God," standing merely for spirit, demon, thunder, or at most
the thunder god.
Owing to the choice made by the missionaries of the Tupi
language as the lingoa geral, or common medium of inter-
course amongst the multitudinous populations of -p^e Tupi-
Brazil and Paraguay, a somewhat exaggerated Guaranian
idea has been formed of the range of the Tupi- Family.
Guarani family. Many of the tribes about the stations, after
being induced by the padres to learn this convenient lingua
franca, were apt in course of time to forget their o^n mother-
tongue, and thus came to be accounted members of this
family. But allowing for such a source of error, there can be
no doubt that at the discovery the Tupi or Eastern, and the
Guarani or Western, section occupied jointly an immense
area, which may perhaps be estimated at about one-fourth of
the southern continent. Tupi tribes were met as far west as
Peru, where they were represented by the Omagua (" Flat-
heads'"), in French Guiana the Emerillons and the Oyampi
belong to this stock, as do the Kamayura and Aueto on the
Upper Xingu, and the Mundurucu of the middle Tapajoz.
Some attention has been paid to the speech of the Ti-
cuna of the Maranon, which appears to be a stock language
with strong Pana and weak Aymara^ affinities. Although
its numeral system stops at 2, it is still in advance of a
' They are the Cambebas of the Tupi, a term also meaning Flatheads, and they
are so called because " apertao aos recemnacidos as cabegas entre duas taboas afim
de achatdl-as, costume que actualmente han perdido" (Milliet, ll. p. 174).
'^ Such "identities" as Tic. drejd=Ayra. chacha (man); etai=utax (house) etc.,
are not convincing, especially in the absence of any scientific study of the laws of
Lautverschiebung, if any exist between the Aymara-Ticuna phonetic systems.
And then the question of loan words has to be settled before any safe conclusions
can be drawn from such assumed resemblances. The point is important m the
present connection, because current statements regarding the supposed reduction
of the number of stock languages in South America are largely based on the un-
scientific comparison of lists of words, which may have nothing in common except
perhaps a letter or two like the m in Macedon and Monmouth. Two languages
(cf Turkish and Arabic) may have hundreds or thousands of words in common,
and yet belong to fundamentally different linguistic families.
27—2
420 Man: Past and Present [ch.
neighbouring Chiquito tongue, which is said to have no
numerals at all, etama, supposed to be i, really meaning
"alone."
Yet it would be a mfttake to infer that these Bolivian
Chiquito, who occupy the southernmost headstreams of the
. Madeira, are a particularly stupid people. On
iqm o. ^j^^ contrary, the Naquinoneis, " Men," as they
call themselves, are in some respects remarkably clever, and,
strange to say, their otherwise rich and harmonious language
(presumably the dominant Moncoca dialect is meant) has
terms to express such various distinctions as the height of a
tree, of a house, of a tower, and other subtle shades of differ-
ence disregarded in more cultured tongues'. But it is to be
considered that, pace Max Muller, the range of thought and
of speech is not the same, and all peoples have no doubt
many notions for which they have no equivalents in their
necessarily defective languages. The Chiquito, i.e. " Little
Folks," were so named because, "when the country was first
invaded, the Indians fled to the forests; and the Spaniards
came to their abandoned huts, where the doorways were so
exceedingly low that the Indians who had fled were supposed
to be dwarfs I" They are a peaceful industrious nation, who
ply several trades, manufacture their own copper boilers for
making sugar, weave ponchos and straw hats, and when they
want blue trousers they plant a row of indigo, and rows of
white and yellow cotton when striped trousers are in fashion.
Hence the question arises, whether these clever little people
may not after all have originally possessed some defective
numeral system, which was merely superseded by the Spanish
numbers.
The Gran Chaco is another area of considerable modifica-
tion induced by European influence, and there only remain
hybridised descendants of many of the ancient
Toba.*^° ^ peoples, for example, the Abipone of the Guay-
curu family. Pure survivals of this family are
the Mataco and Toba of the Vermejo and Pilcomayo rivers.
These two tribes were visited by Ehrenreich, who noticed
their disproportionately short arms and legs, and excessive
1 A. Balbi, Atlas Ethnographique du Globe, XXVII. With regard to the
numerals this authority tells us that "il a empruntd k I'espagnol ses noms de
nombres" {ib.).
^ Markham, List of the Tribes, p. 92.
xi] The American Aborigines 421
development of the thorax'. The daily life, customs, and
beliefs of these and other Chaco Indians have been admirably
described and illustrated by Erland Nordenskiold', who lived
and travelled among them. The Toba and Mataco frequently
fall out with the neighbouring Choroti and Ashluslays of
the Pilcomayo anent fishing rights and so on, but the conflict
consists in ambuscades and treachery rather than in pitched
battles. Weapons consist of bows and arrows and clubs,
and lances are used on horseback. Enemies are scalped
and these trophies are greatly prized, being hung outside the
victor's hut when fine and playing a part on great occasions.
On the conclusion of peace both sides pay the blood-price for
those slain by them in sheep, horses, etc. Within the Cho-
roti or Ashluslay village all are equal, and though property
is held individually, the fortunate will always share with those
in want, so that theft is unknown. To kill old people or
young children is regarded as no crime'.
1 Urbewokner Brasiltens, 'g. loi.
^ " La vie des Indiens dans le Chaco," trans, by H. Beuchat, Rev. de Giog.
annuelle, t. VI. Paris, 1912. Cf. also the forthcoming book by R. Karsten of
Helsingfors who has recently visited some of these tribes.
' While this account of Central and South America was in the Press Clark
Wissler's valuable book was published, The American Indian, New York, 1917.
He describes (pp. 227-42) the following culture areas :
X. The Nahua area (the ancient Maya and the later Aztec cultures).
XI. The Chibcha area (from the Chibcha-speaking Talamanca and Chiriqui
of Costa Rica to and including Colombia and western Venezuela).
XII. The Inca area (Ecuador, Peru and northern Chili).
XIII. The Guanaco area (lower half of Chili, Argentine, Patagonia, Tierra
del Fuego).
XIV. The Amazon area (all the rest of South America).
XV. The Antilles (West Indies, linking on to the Amazon area).
CHAPTER XII
THE PRE-DRAVIDIANS: JUNGLE TRIBES OF THE DECCAN,
VEDDA, SAKAI, AUSTRALIANS
The Pre-Dravidians— The Kadir—T'he Famyan—The Irula—The Kurumba—
The Vedda—The Saiai— The Toala — Austraha : Physical Conditions — Physical
Type— Australian Origins— Evidence from Language and Culture— Four Suc-
cessive Immigrations — Earlier Views — Material Culture — Sociology — Initia-
tion Ceremonies— Totemism — The Family — Kinship— Property and Trade-
Magic and Religion.
Conspectus.
Present Range. Jungle Tribes, Deccan; Vedda, Ceylon;
. . Sakai, Malay Peninsula and East Sumatra;
Australians, unsettled parts of Australia and
reservations.
Hair, wavy to curly, long, usually black.
Colour, dark brown. Skull, > typically dolichocephalic.
Vedda skull dolichocephalic (70" 5) and very small, Sakai
mesaticephalic (78), Toala {mixed) low, brachy-
Characters cephalic (82). Jaws, ortkognatkous. Austra-
lians, generally prognathous. Nose, usually
platyrrhine. Stature, low:. Vedda I'^^m. (s/t. o^in.) to
Australian I'^j^m. {5/t. 2 in.)
Speech, Jungle tribes, usually borrowed from neighbours.
Australian languages agglutinative, not uniform
Characters throughout the continent and unconnected with
any other group.
Culture, lowest hunting stage, simple agriculture has been
adopted by a few tribes from- their neighbours.
The term Pre-Dravidian, the first use of which seems to
be due to Lapicque, is now employed to include certain jungle
tribes of South India, the Vedda of Ceylon, the
Dravi<UMs. Sakai of the southern Malay Peninsula, the basal
element in certain tribes in the East India Archi-
pelago and the main element in the Australians. Pre-Dravidian
CH. xii] The Pre-Dravidians 423
characters are coarse hair, more of less wavy or curly, a narrow
head, a very broad nose, dark brown skin and short stature.
The followingmaybe taken asexamplesof the Pre-Dravidian
jungle tribes of Southern India'. The Kadir of the Anaimalai
Hills and the mountain ranges south into Tra-
vancore, are of short stature (1-577 m. 5 ft. 2 in.), ^"^^ ^*'*"'"
with a dark skin, dolichocephalic and platyrrhine. They chip
their incisor teeth, as do the Mala- Vadan, and dilate the lobes
of their ears, but do not tattoo. They wear bamboo combs
similar to those of the Sakai. They speak a Tamil patois.
"The Kadirs," according to Thurston, "afford a typical ex-
ample of happiness without culture " ; they are nomad hunters
and collectors of jungle products, with scarcely any tillage ;
they do not possess land but have the right to collect all minor
forest produce and sell it to the Government. They deal most
extensively in wax and honey. They are polygynous. Their
dead are buried in the jungle, the head is entirely covered with
leaves and placed towards the east ; there are no monuments.
Their religion is a crude polytheism with a vague worship of
stone images or invisible gods ; it is " an ejaculatory religion."
The Paniyan, who live in Malabar, the Wyhad and the
Nilgiris, have thick and sometimes everted lips and the hair
is in some a mass of short curls, in others long .
wavy curls. They are dark skinned, dolicho- * amyan.
cephalic (index 74), platyrrhine and of short stature (i"574m.
5 ft. 2 in.). They sometimes tattoo, and. the lobes of the ears
are dilated. Fire is made by the sawing method. They are
agriculturalists and were practically serfs ; they are bold and
reckless and were formerly often employed as thieves. They
speak a debased Malayalam patois. Their dead are buried ;
they practise monogamy and have beliefs in various spirits.
The Irula are the darkest of the Nilgiri tribes. They are
dolichocephalic (index 7 5 '8), platyrrhine and of low stature
(1-598 m. nearly 5 ft. 3 in.). No tattooing is re- ^^ ^^^^
corded, but they dilate the lobes of their ears.
Their language is a corrupt form of Tamil. They are agri-
culturalists and eat all kinds of meat except that of buffaloes
and cattle. They are as a rule monogamous. Their dead
are buried in a sitting posture and the grave is marked by a
stone. Professedly they are worshippers of Vishnu.
• E. Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Sokthern India, 1909.
424 Man : Past and Present [Ch.
The jungle Kurumba of the Nilgiris appear to be remnants
of a great and widely spread people who erected dolmens.
They have slightly broader heads (index 'j']^ than
unim a. g^|]jg^ tribes, but resemble them in their broad
nose, dark skin and low stature (1-575 m. 5 ft. 2 in.). They
cultivate the ground a little, but are essentially wood-cutters,
hunters, and collectors of jungle produce. There is said to be
no marriage rite, and several brothers share a wife. Some
bury their dead. After a death a long waterworn stone is usually
placed in one of the old dolmens which are scattered over the
Nilgiri plateau, but occasionally a small dolmen is raised to
mark the burial. They have a great reputation for magical
powers. Some worship Siva, others worship Kuribattraya
(Lord of many sheep), and the wife of Siva. They also wor-
ship a rough stone, setting it up in a cave or in a circle of
stones to which they make puja and offer cooked rice at the
sowing time. The Kadu Kurumba of Mysore bury children
but cremate adults ; there is a separate house in each village
for unmarried girls and another at the end of the village for
unmarried males.
The Vedda of Ceylon have long black coarse wavy or
slightly curly hair. The cephalic index is 70*5, the nose is
Th V dd depressed at the root, almost platyrrhine ; the
broad face is remarkably orthognathous and the
forehead is slightly retreating with prominent brow arches ;
the lips are thin, and the skin is dark brown. The stature is
extremely low, only 1-533 m. (5 ft. o^in.). The Coast and
less pure Vedda average 43 mm. (if in.) taller and have
broader heads. The true Vedda are a grave but happy
people, quiet, upright, hospitable with a strong love of liberty.
Lying and theft are unknown. They are trmid and have a
great fear of strangers. The bow and arrow are their only
weapons and the arrow tipped with iron obtained from the
Sinhalese forms a universal ' tool. They speak a modified
Sinhali, but employ only one numeral and count with sticks.
They live under rock shelters or in simple huts made of boughs.
They are strictly monogamous and live in isolated families
with no. chiefs and have no regular clan meetings. Each
section of the Vedda had in earlier days its own hunting
grounds where fish, game, honey, and yams constituted their
sole food. The wild Vedda simply leave their dead in a cave,
which is then deserted. The three things that loom largest
xii] The Pre-Dravidians 425
in the native mind are hunting, honey, and the cult of the
dead. The last constitutes almost the whole of the religious
life and magical practices of the people ; it is the motif of
almost every dance and may have been the source of all.
After a death they perform certain dances and rites through a
shaman in connection with the recently departed ghost, yaka.
They also propitiate powerful yaku, male and female, by
sacrifices and ceremonial dances \
The Sakat or Senoi are jungle folk, some of whom have
mixed with Semang and other peoples. Their skin is of a
medium brown colour. Their hair is long, mainly tm, «; t ■
wavy or loosely curly, and black with a reddish ^ *''
tinge. The average stature may be taken to be from 1-5 m.
to I '55 m. (59 to 61 inches), the head index varies from about
77 to 81. The face is fairly broad, with prominent cheek-bones
and brow ridges ; the low broad nose has spreading alae and
short concave ridge ; the lips are thick but hot everted. They
are largely nomadic, and their agriculture is of the most primitive
description, their usual implement being the digging stick.
Their houses are built on the ground and as a rule are rect-
angular in plan though occasionally conical, and huts are
sometimes built in trees as refuges from wild beasts. A scanty
garment of bark cloth was formerly worn, and, like the Semang,
they make fringed girdles from a black thread-like fungus.
Their distinctive weapon is the blow-pipe which they have
brought to great perfection, and their food consists in jungle
produce, including many poisonous roots and tubers which
they have learnt how to treat, so as to render them innocuous.
They do not make canoes and rarely use rafts. In the marriage
ceremony the man has to chase the girl round a mound of
earth and catch her before she has encircled it a third time.
The marriage tie is strictly observed. Each village has a
petty chief, whose influence is purely personal. Individual
property does not exist, only family property. Cultivation is
also communal. The inhabitants of the upper heaven consist
of Tuhan or Peng, the " god " of the Sakai and a giantess
named " Granny Long-breasts " who washes sin-blackened
human souls in hot water ; the good souls ultimately go to a
cloud-land. There are numerous demons and whenever the
1 p. and F. Sarasin, Ergebnisse NaturwissenschaftlicherForschungen auf Ceylon.
Die Steinzeit auf Ceylon, 1908; H. Parker, Ancient Ceylon, 1909. The mogt
complete account is given by C. G. and B. Z. Seligman, The Veddas, 191 1.
426 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Sakai have done wrong Tuhan gives the demons leave to
attack them, and there is no contending against his decree.
He is not prayed to, as his will is unalterable'.
The Toala of the south-west peninsula of the 'Celebes are
at base, according to the Sarasins", a Pre-Dravidian people,
though some mixture with other races has taken
The Toala. 1 '-' -t^. , . . , .
place. 1 he hair is very wavy and even curly,
the skin darkish browp, the head low brachycephalic (index 82)
and the stature i'575 m. (5 ft. 2 in.). The face is somewhat
short with very broad nose and thick lips.. Possibly the Ulu
Ayar of west Borneo who are delated to the Land Dayaks may
be partly of Pre- Dravidian origin and other traces of this race
will probably be found in the East India Archipelago'.
Australia resembles South Africa in the arid conditions
characterising the interior, the eastern range of mountains
Australia: precipitating the warm moisture-laden winds
Physical from' the Pacific. As a result of the restricted
Conditions. rainfall there is no river system of importance
except that of the Murray and its tributary the Darling. In
the north and north-east, owing to heavier rainfall, there are
numerous water-courses, but they do not open up the interior
of the country. The lack of uniformity in the water supply
has a far-reaching effect oh all living beings. The arid con-
ditions, the irregularity and short duration of the rainfall oblige
the natives to be continually migrating, and prevent these
unsettled bands from ever attaining any size, indeed they are
sometimes hard pressed to obtain enough food to keep alive.
It may be assumed that the backwardness of the culture
of the Australians is due partly to the low state of culture of
their ancestors when they arrived in the country, and partly
to the peculiar character of the country as well as of its flora
and fauna, since Australia has never been stocked with wild
animals dangerous to human life, or with any suitable for
domestication. The relative isolation from other peoples has
had a retarding effect and the Australian has developed largely
along his own lines without the impetus given by competition
with other peoples. Records of simple migration are rare,
1 W. W. Skeat and C. 0. Blagden, Pagan Races of the M flay Peninsula, \<^;
R. Martin, Die Inlandstamme der Mdlayischen Hdlbinseln, 1905.
^ Fritz Sarasin, Versuch einer Anthropologie der Insel Celebes. Zweiter Tell:
Die Varietdien des Menschen auf Celebes, icy^.
^ A. C. Haddon, Appendix to C. Hose and W. McDoiigall, The Pagan Tribes
0/ Borneo, 11. 19 12,
xn] The Pre-Dravidians 427
There have been no waves of aggression, and intertribal feuds
are not very serious affairs. The Australians have never in-
fluenced any other peoples and they are doomed gradually to
disappear.
Baldwin Spencer says "In the matter of personalappearance
while conforming generally to what is known as the Australian
type, there is considerable variation. The man
varies from, approximately, a maximum of 6 ft. 3 in. tIm "*'
to a minimum of 5 ft. 2 in.... As a general rule,
few of them are taller than 5 ft. 8 in. The women vary be-
tween 5 ft. 9 in. and 4 ft. gin. Their average height is not
more than 5 ft. 2 in. The brow ridges are strongly marked,
especially in the man, and the forehead slopes back. The nose
is broad with the foot deep set. In colour the native is dark
chocolate brown, not black . The hair. . . may be almost straight,
decidedly wavy — its usual feature — or almost, but never really,
frizzly — The beard also may be well developed or almost
absent^" The skull is dolichocephalic with an average cranial
index of 72, prognathous and platyrrhine.
There has been much speculation with regard to the origin
of the present Australian race. According to Baldwin Spencer
" There can be no doubt but that in past times
the whole of the continent, including Tasmania, or^Ls!*"
was occupied by one race. 'This original, and
probably Negritto^ population, at an early period, was widely
spread over Malayasia and Australia including Tasmania,
which at that time was not shut off by Bass Strait. The
Tasmanians had no boats capable of crossing the latter and
[it is assumed that their ancestors] must have gone over on
land'."
Subsequently when the land sank a remnant of the old
ulotrichous population " was thus left stranded in Tasmania,
where Homo tasmanianus survived until he came in contact
with Europeans and was exterminated." He had frizzly hair.
" His weapons and implements were of the most primitive
kind ; long pointed unbarbed spears, no spear thrower, no
boomerang, simple throwing stick and only the crudest form
of chipped stone axes, knives and scrapers that were never
» Federal Handbook, Brit. Ass. for Advancement of Science, 1914, p. 36.
2 The Tasmanians can scarcely be termed Negritoes. The important point to
be noted is that this early population was ulotrichous, cf. p. 159.
3 Loc. cit. p. 34. Or the Strait may then have been very narrow.
428 • Man: Past and Present [ch.
hafted. Unfortunately of his organisation, customs, and
beliefs we know but little in detail'."
It is now generally held that at a later date an immigration
of a people in a somewhat higher stage of culture took place ;
these are regarded by some as belonging to the Dravidian,
and by others, and with more probability, to the Pre-Dravidian
race. J. Mathew"" suggests that "the two races are represented
by the two primary classes, or phratries, of Australian society,
which were generally designated by names indicating a contrast
of colour, such as eaglehawk and crow. The crow, black
cockatoo, etc., would represent the Tasmanian element ; the
eaglehawk, white cockatoo, etc., the so-called Dravidian."
Baldwin Spencer does not think that the moiety names lend
any serious support to the theory of the mixture of two races
differing in colour. He goes on to. say "Mr Mathew also
postulates a comparatively recent slight infusion of Malay
blood in the northern half of Australia. There is, however,
practically no evidence of Malay infusion. One of the most
striking features of the Malay is his long, lank hair,_ and yet
it is just in these north parts that the most frizzly hair is met
with\"
As concerns linguistics S. H. Ray says " There is no
evidence of an African, Andaman, Papuan, or Malay con-
Evidence from nection with the Australian languages. There
Language and are reasons for regarding the Australian as in a
Culture. similar morphological stage to the Dravidian,
but there is no genealogical relationship proved^" No con-
nection has yet been proved between the Australian languages
and the Austronesian or Oceanic branch of the Austric family
of languages, first systematically described by W. Schmidt*.
The study of Australian languages is particularly difficult
owing to the very few serviceable grammars and dictionaries,
and the large number of very incomplete vocabularies scattered
about in inaccessible works and journals. The main conclusion
to which Schmidt has arrived" is that the Australian languages
are not, as had been supposed, a mainly uniform group. Though
' Loc. cit. p. 34.
^ Two Representative Tribes of Queensland, 1 910, p. 30.
^ Reports Camb. Exped. to Torres Straits, in. 1907, p. 528.
* Die Mon-Khmer Volker, 1906. Schmidt has for many years studied the
Australian languages and has published his results in Anthropos, Vols, vil., vill.
1912, 1913, from which, and also from Man, No. 8, 1908, the following summarised
extracts are taken,
' See Man, No. 8, 1908, pp. 184-5.
^ii] The Pre-Dravidians
429
over the greater part of Australia languages possess strong
conimon elements, North Australia has languages showing no
similarities in vocabulary and very few in gramijiar with that
larger group or with each other. The area of the North
Australian languages is included in a line from south of Roe-
buck Bay in the west to Cape Flattery in the east, with a
southward bend to include Arunta (Aranda), interrupted by a
branch of southern languages running up north down Flinders
and Leichhardt rivers'. The area contains two or three linguistic
groups, best distinguished by their terminations which consist
respectivelyof vowels and consonants, the oldest group; vowels
alone, the latest group ; and vowels and liquids, probably re-
presenting a transition between the two.
In South Australia, though differences occur, the languages
possess common features both in grammar and vocabulary,
having similar personal pronouns, and certain words for parts
of the body in common. Linguistic differences are associated
with differences in social grouping, the area of purely vowel
endings coinciding with the area of the 2-class system and
matrilinear descent, while the area of liquid endings is partly
coterminous with the 4-class system and (often) patrilinear
succession.
Schmidt endeavours to trace the connection between the
distribution of languages with that of types of social groupings,
more particularly in connection with the culture
zones which Graebner' has traced throughout immigration^*
the Pacific area, representing successive waves
of migration. The first immigration, corresponding with
Graebner's Ur-period, is represented by languages with post-
posed genitive, the earliest stratum being pure only in Tas-
mania ; remnants of the first stratum and a second stratum
occur in Victoria, and remnants of the second stratum to the
north and north-east. According to Schmidt this cultural
stratum is characterised by absence of group or marriage
totemism, and presence of sex patrons ("sex-totemism"). The
second immigration is represented by languages with pre-
position of the genitive, initial r and /, vowel and explosive
1 See the map constructed by P. W. Schmidt and P. K. Streit, Anihrofios, vil.
'^'2'see Globus XC 1906, and "Die sozialen Systeme d. SuAsce," Ztschr. f. Sozial-
wissenschaft, XI.' 1908. Schmidt's divergence from Graebner's views are dealt with
in Zeitschr.f. Ethnologic, 1909, pp. 372-5> and Anthropos, vii. 1912, p. 246 ff.
430 Man : Past and Present [ch.
endings, and is found fairly pure only in the extreme north-
west and north, and in places in the north-east. The great
multiplicity qf languages belonging to this stratum may be attri-
buted to the predominance of the strictly local type of totem-
groups. These are thelanguagesof Graebner's "toterh -culture."
The third immigration is represented by languages with pre-
position, of the genitive, no initial r and /, and purely vowel
terminations. These are the languages of the south central
group of tribes with a 2-class system and matrilinear descent.
This uniform group has the largest area and has influenced
the whole mass of Australian languages, only North Australia
and Tasmania remaining immune. Their sociological structure
with no localisation of totems and classes contributed to their
power of expansion. The fourth immigration is represented
by languages of an intermediate type, with vowel and liquid
endings but no initial r and /. These are the tribes with 4-class
and 8-class systems, universal father-right (proving the strong
influence of older totemic ideas), curious fertility rites, con-
ception ideas and migration myths.
It will be seen that Schmidt's conclusions confute the
evolutionary theory developed by Fraz'er, Hartland, Howitt,
. " Spencer and Gillen, Durkheim and (in part)
lews. Andrew Lang, that Australia was essentially
homogeneous in fundamental ideas which haive developed
differently on account of geographic and climatic variation.
Schmidt's view is that Australia was entered successively by
a number of entirely different tribes, so that the variation now
met with is due to radical diversities and to the numerous
intermixtures arising from migrations and stratifications of
peoples. The linguistic data dispose of the idea that the
oldest tribes with mother-right, 2-class system, traces of
group-marriage, and lack of moral and religious ideas live in
the centre, and that from thence advancement radiated towards
the coast bringing about father-right, abandonment of class
system and totemism, individual marriage, and higher ethical
and religious ideas. On the contrary it would appear that the
centre of the continent is the great channel in which movements
are still taking place ; the older peoples are driven out towards
the margin and there preserve the old sociological, ethical arid
religious conditions. In fact, the older the people, judging
from their linguistic stratum, the less one finds among them
what has been assumed to be the initial stage for Central
xii] The Pre-Dravidians 431
Australia^ These are Schmidt's views and they confirm the
cultural results established by Graebner. But as the whole
question of the culture layers in the Pacific is still under
discussion it is inadvisable at this stage of our knowledge to
make any definite statements. It is woi:th noting, however,
that' the distribution of simple burial of the dead coincides in
the main with Schmidt's South Australian language area, and
the area roughly enclosed on the east by long. 140" E. and the
north by lat. 20° S. appears to form a technological province
distinct from the rest of Australia".
Rarely can the Australian depend on regular supplies of
food. He feeds on flesh, fish, grubs and insects, and wild
vegetable food ; probably everything that is
edible is eaten. Cannibalism is widely spread, culture!
but human flesh is nowhere a regular article of
food. Clothing, apart from ornament, is rarely worn, but in
the south, skin cloaks and fur aprons are fairly common.
Scarification of the body is frequent and conspicuous. The
men usually let their hair grow long, and the women keep
theirs short. Dwellings are of the simplest charaeter, usually
merely breakwinds or slight huts, but where there is a large
supply of vegetable food, huts are made of boughs covered
with bark or grass and are sometimes coated with clay. Im-
plements are made of shell, bone, wood and stone. Baldwin
Spencer remarks "It is not too much to say that at the present
time we can parallel amongst Australian stone weapons all the
types known in Europe under the names Chellean, Mousterian,
Aurignacian etc.... The terms Eolithic, Palaeolithic, and Neo-
lithic do not apply in Australia as indicating either time periods
or levels of culture'." Spears and wooden clubs are universal,
and the use of the spear-thrower is generally distributed. The
boomerang is found almost throughout Australia ; the variety
that returns when it is thrown is as a rule only a plaything or
for throwing at birds. The forms of the various implements
vary in difierent parts of the country and in some districts
certain implements may be entirely absent. For example the
boomerang is not found in the northern parts of Cape York
peninsula or of the Northern Territory, and the spear- thrower
1 Anthropos, vii. 1912, pp. 247, 248. ,. , r- ,., o
2 N. W^. Thomas, "The Disposal of the Dead in Australia," Folklore, xix. 1908.
3 A. R. Brown, MS. ^ , ^ ^ ^ , c- ■
« Federal Handbook, British Assoctation for the Advancement of Science, 1914,
p. 76.
432 Man : Past and' Present [ch.
is absent from south-east Queensland. Bows and arrows are
unknown and pottery making does not occur. Rafts are made
of one or more logs, and the commonest form of canoe is that
made of a single sheet of bark. Dug-outs occur in a few places,
and both single and double outriggers are found only on the
Queensland coast. These sporadic occurrences give additional
support to the modern view that the racial and cultural history
of Australia is by no means so simple as has till lately been
assumed \
Students of Australian sociology have been so much im-
pressed with certain prominent features of social organisation
that they have paid insufficient attention to
ocioogy. kinship and the family ; the former has however
recently been investigated by A. R. Brown", while information
concerning the latter has been carefully sifted by B. Malinowski^
The main features of social groupings are the tribe, the local
groups, the classes, the totemic clans and the families. A tribe
is composed of a number of local groups and these are per-
petuated in the sanre tracts by the sons, who hunt over the
grounds of their fathers ; this is the " local organisation."
The local group is the only political unit, and ziw/ra-group
justice has been extended to zW^r-group justice, where the
units of reference are not based on kinship ; this may be re-
garded as the earliest stage of what is known as International
Law*. In the so-called "social organisation," the tribe as a
community is divided into two parts (moieties or phratries),
which are quite distinct from the local groups, though rarely
they may be coincident. Each moiety may Ise sub-divided
into two or four exogamous sections which are generally called
"classes " and are peculiar to Australia. Descent in the classes
is as a rule indirect matrilineal or indirect patrilineal, that is to
say, while the child still belongs to its mother's or father's
moiety (as the case may be) it is assigned to the class to which
the mother or the father does not belong ; but the grand-
children belong to the class of a grandmother or grandfather.
In diagram I (below) A and C are classes of one moiety,
B and D those of the other. Thus when A man marries
' A. C. Haddon, "The Outrigger Canoes of Torres Straits and North Queens-
land," Essays and Studies Presented to W. Ridgeway, 1913, p. 621, and W. H. R.
Rivers, " The Contact of Peoples," in the same volume, p. 479.
2 Man, No. 32, 1910.
^ The Family among the Australian Aborigines, 1913.
* G. C.Wheeler, The Tribe, and intertribal relations in Australia, 1910, p. 163.
xii] The Pre-Dravidians 433
B woman the children are D. B man marries A woman and
the children are C and so on. When there are four classes in
each moiety the diagram works out as follows (11)^ :
c : D
I
Very important in social life are the initiation ceremonies
by means of which a youth is admitted to the status of^ tribal
manhood. These ceremonies vary greatly from tribe to tribe
but they agree in certain fundamental points, "(i) They
begin at the age of puberty. (2) During the initiation cere-
monies the women play an important part. (3) At the close
of the first part of the ceremonies, such as that of tooth
knocking out or circumcision, a definite performance is enacted
emblematic of the fact that the youths have passed out of the
control of the women. (4) During the essential parts the
women are typically absent and the youths are, shown the bull-
roarer, have the secret beliefs explained to them and are
instructed in the moral precepts and customs, including food
restrictions, that they must henceforth observe under severe
penalties. (5) The last grade is not passed through until a
man is quite mature"."
Practically universal is the existence of a grouping of
individuals under the names of plants, animals or various
objects ; these are termed totems and the human ^
■' ' J ^ ^ 1 T^u 1 Totenusm.
groups are termed totem clans. 1 he members
of a totem clan commonly believe themselves to be actually
descended from or related to their totem, and all members of
a clan, whatever tribe they may belong to, are regarded as
brethren, who have mutual duties, prohibitions and privileges.
Thus a member of a totem clan must help and never injure
any fellow member. " Speaking generally it may be said that
every totemic group has certain ceremonies associated with it
and that these refer to old totemic ancestors. In all tribes
they form part of a secret ritual in which only the initiated
may take part.- In most tribes a certain number are shown
1 A. R. Brown, "Marriage and Descent in North Australia," Man, No. 32, 1910.
^ W. Baldwin Spencer, loc.'ctt. p. 50.
K. ' 28
434 Man : Past and Present (^ch.
to the youths during the early stages of initiation, but at a later
period he sees many more^"
In several tribes, and probably it was very general, certain
magical ceremonies were performed to render the totem
abundant or efficacious. The sex patron ("sex totem"), when
the women have one animal, such as the owlet night-jar
associated with them, and the men another, such as the bat ;
and the guardian genius (mis-called " individual totem "),
acquired by dreaming of some animal, are of rare occurrence.
The individual family has been shown by Malinowski^ to
be " a unit playing an important part in the social life of the
^ natives and well defined by a number of moral,
r ^ * y- customary and legal norms ; it is further deter-
mined by the sexual division of labour, the aboriginal mode"
of living, and especially by the intimate relation between the
parents and children. The individual relation between husband
and wife (marriage) is rooted in the unity of the family... and
in the well-defined, though not always exclusive, sexual right
the husband acquires over his wife." All sexual licence is
regulated by and subject to strict rules. The Pirrauru
custom, by which individuals are allocated accessory spouses,
"proves that the relationship involved does not possess the
character of marriage. For it completely differs from marriage
in nearly all the essential points by which maLrriage in Australia
is defined. And above all the Pirrauru relation does not seem
to involve the facts of family life in its true sense " (p. 298).
A. R. Brown' asserts that so far as our information goes,
the only method of regulating marriage is by means of the
relationship system. In every tribe there is a law
^ '^' to the effect that a man may only marry women
who stand to him in a certain relationship, and there is no
evidence that there is any other method of regulating marriage.
The so-called class rule by which a man of a special division
or group is required to marry a woman of another division is
merely the law of relationship stated in a less exact form. It
is the fact that a man may only marry a relative of a certain
kind that necessitates the marrying into a particular relationship
division. The rule of totemic exogamy, according to A'. R.
Brown, is equally seen to have no existence apart from the
1 W. Baldwin Spencer, loc. cit. p. 44.
2 The Family among the Australian Aborigines, 1913, p. 304.
3 MS.
xii] The Pre-Dravidians 435
relationship rule. Where a totemic group is a clan and con-
sists of relations all of one line of descent, a man is prohibited
from marrying a woman of his own group by the ordinary rule
of relationship. On the other hand, where the totemid group
is not a clan, but is a local group (as in the Burduna tribe) or
a cult society (as in the Arunta tribe) there is no rule pro-
hibiting a man from marrying a woman of the same totemic
group as himself. The so-called rule of local exogamy in some
tribes (perhaps in all) is merely a result of the fact that the
local group is a clan, i.e. a group of persons related in one line
of descent only. Only two methods of regulating marriage
are known to exist in the greater part of Australia': Type I.
A man marries the daughter of one of the men he denotes by
the same term, as his mother's brother. Type II. A man
marries a woman who is the daughter's daughter of some man
whom he denotes by the same term as his mother's mother's
brother. In either case he may not marry any other kind of
relative. The existence of two phratries or moieties or four
named divisions ("classes") in a tribe conveys no information
whatever as to the marriage rule of the tribe. The term
"class" and "sub-class," according to A. R. Brown, had better
be discarded as writers use them to denote several totally
distinct kinds of divisions.
The tribe has collecting and hunting rights over an area
with recognised limits, smaller communities down to the family
unit having similar rights within the tribal
boundaries. In some cases a tribe which had xrade'^*"^
no stone suitable for making stone implements
within its own boundaries was allowed to send tribal messengers
to a quarry to procure what was needed without molestation,
though Howitt speaks of family ownership of quarries^ Im-
plements are personal property. An extensive system of
intertribal communication and exchange is carried on, ap-
parently by recognised middlemen, and tribes meet on certain
occasions at established trade centres for a regulated barter.
Beneficent and malevolent magic are universally practised
and totemism possesses a religious besides a social aspect.
An emotional relation often exists between the
members of a totem clan and their totem, and Re^^iolJ"**
the latter are believed at times to warn or protect
• A. R. Brown, "Three Tribes of Western Australia," /<'«'^- R<>y- Anthr. Inst.
XLiii. 1913.
2 A. W. Howitt, The Native Tribes of South-east Australia, 1904, p. 311.
28—2
436 Man : Fast and Present [ch.
their human kinsmen. It may be noted that the widely
spread and elaborate ceremonies designed to render the
totem prolific or to ensure its abundance, though performed
solely by members of the totem clan concerned, are less for
their own benefit than for that of the community\ Owing
perhaps to the difficulty of distinguishing between the purely
social and the religious institutions of primitive peoples great
diversity of opinion prevails even amongst the best observers
regarding the religious views of the Australian aborigines.
The existence of a " tribal All- Father " is perhaps most clearly
emphasised by A. W. Howitt'', who finds this belief wide-
spread in the whole of Victoria and New South Wales, up
to the eastern boundaries of the tribes of the Darling River.
Amongst those of New South Wales are the Euahlayi, whom
K. Langloh Parker describes' as having a more advanced
theology and a more developed worship (including prayers,
pp. 79-80) than any other Australian tribe. These now eat
their hereditary totem without scruple — a sure sign that the
totemic system is dying out, although still outwardly in full
force. Amongst the Arunta, Kaitish, and the other Central
and Northern tribes studied by Spencer and Gillen, totemism
still survives, and totems are even assigned to the mysterious
Iruntarinia entities, vague and invisible incarnations of the
ghosts of ancestors who lived in the Alcheringa time, the dim
remote past at the beginning of everything. These are far
more powerful than living men, because their spirit part is
associated with the so-called churinga, consisting of stones,
pieces of wood or any other objects which are deemed sacred
as possessing a kind of mana which makes the yams and grass .
to grow, enables a man to capture game, and so forth. "That
the churinga are simply objects endowed with mana is the
happy suggestion of Sidney Hartland^ whose explanation has
dispelled the dense fog of mystification hitherto enveloping
the strange beliefs and observances of these Central and
Northern tribes"." N. W. Thomas" reviews the whole ques-
tion of Australian religion, and after describing Twanjiraka,
1 W. Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, The Native Tribes of Central Australia,
1899, Chap. VI., and The Northern Tribes of Central Australia, 1904, Chap. IX.
^ The Native Tribes of South-east Australia, 1904, p. 500.
3 The Euahlayi Tribe, 1905.
* Presidential Address (Section H) Brit. Ass. York, 1906.
' A. H. Keane, Art. "Australasia," in Hastings' Encyclopaedia of Religion and
Ethics, 1909, p. 244.
' The Natives of Australia, 1906, Chap. xiii. Religion.
XIl]
The Pre-Dravidians 437
Malbanga and Ulthaana, of the Arunta, Baiame or Byamee,
famous in anthropological controversy \ Daramulun of the
Yuin, Mungan-ngaua (our father) of the Kurnai, Nurrundere
of the Narrinyeri, Bunjil or Pundjel, often called Mamingorak
(our father) of Victoria, and others, he concludes " These are
by no means the only gods known to Australian tribes ; on
the contrary it can hardly be definitely asserted that there is
or was any tribe which had not some such belief ^"
1 E. B. Tylor, Joum. Anthr. Inst. XXI. p. 292 ; A. Lang, Magic and Religion,
p. 25 ; Myth, Ritual and Religion, Chap. Xll. ; K. Langloh Parker, The Euahlayi
Tribe, 1905, Chap. IL ; M. F. v. Leonhardi, Anthropos, IV. 1909, p. 1065, and many
others.
^ The following should be consulted :
Original memoirs : C. Strehlow, Die Aranda- und Loritza-Stdmme in Zentral-
Australien, 1907 ; W. E. Roth, Ethnological Studies among the north-west-central
Queensland Aborigines, 1897 ; North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletins 1-8,
1901-6, and Bulletins 9-18 ; Records of the Australian Museum, vi.-vill. Sydney,
1890-1910.
Compilations and discussions : E. Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the
Religious Life : a Study in Religious Sociology (translated by J. W. Swain), a very
suggestive study based on Australian custom and belief ; J. G. Frazer, Exogamy
and Totemism, 1. 1910 ; The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead,
I. pp. 67-169, 1913.
CHAPTER XIII
THE CAUCASIC PEOPLES
General Considerations — Constituent Elements — Past and Present Range — Cradle-
land: Africa north of Sudan — Quaternary "Sahara" — Early European and
Mauretanian types — The Guanches, Types and Affinities — Origin of the Euro-
pean Brachycephals — Summary of Orthodox View — Linguistic Evidence — The
Basques — The Iberians — The Ligurians in Rhineland and Italy. Sicilian
Origins — Sicanij Siculi — Sard and Corsican Origins — Ethnological Relations
in Italy — Sergi's Mediterranean Domain — Range of the Mediterraneans — The
Pelasgians — Theory of pre-Hellenic Pelasgians — Pelasgians and Mykenean
civilisation — Aegean Culture — Other Views — Range of the Hamites in Africa —
The Eastern Hamites — The Western "Moors" — General Hamitic Type —
Foreign Elements in Mauretania — Arab and Berber Contrasts — The Tibus —
The Egyptian Hamites — Origins — Theory of Asiatic Origins — Proto-Egyptian
type — Armenoidtype — Asiatic influence on Egyptian Culture — Negroid mixture
— The Fulah — Other Eastern Hamites — Bejas — Somals — Somal Genealogies —
The Galla — The Masai.
Conspectus.
Present Range. All the extra-tropical habitable lands,
except Chinese empire, Japan, and the Arctic zone; inter-
tropical America, Arabia, India, and Indonesia;
Distribution. l i- u i
S'boradtcally everywhere.
Three main types: — i. Southern dolichocephals, Mediter-
Physical ranean ; 2. Northern Dolichocephals, Nordic;
Characters. 3. Brachycephals, Alpine. /
Hair: i. Very dark brown or black, wiry, curly or ring-
letty. 2. Very light brown,flaxen, or red, rather long, straight
or wavy, smooth and glossy. 3. Light chestnut or reddish brown,
wavy, rather short and dull. All oval in section; beard of all
full, bushy, straight, or wavy, often lighter than hair of head,
sometime very long. Colour: i. Very variable — white, light
olive, all shades of brown and even blackish {Eastern Hamites
and others). 2. Florid. 3. Pale white, swarthy or very light
brown. Skull : i and 2 long (72 to 79)/ 3 round (85 to 87
and upwards); all orthognathous. Cheek-bone of all small,
never projecting laterally, sometimes rather high {some Berbers
CH. xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 439
and Scotch). Nose, mostly large, narrow, straight, arched or
hooked, sometimes rather broad, heavy, concave and short.
Eyes: i. Black or deep brown, but also blue. 2. Mainly
blue. 3. Brown, hazel-grey and black.
Stature: i. Under-sized [mean i'62,om. ^ft. /\.in.), but
variable {some Hamites, Hindus, and others medium or tall).
2. Tall [mean I'yiSm. ^ft. 8 or <)in.). 3. Medium {mean
<ift. 6tn.), but also very tall {Indonesians I'y^om. to I'S^om.
S/t. 9 to 6/1.). Lips, mostly rather full and well-shaped, but
sometimes thin, or upper lip very long {many Irish), and under
lip pendulous {many Jews). Arms, rather short as compared
with Negro. Legs, shapely, with calves usually well developed.
Feet : i and 3 small with high instep; 2 rather large.
Temperament: landT,. Brilliant, quick-witted, excitable
and impulsive; sociable and courteous, but fickle, untrustworthy,
and even treacherous {Iberian, South Italian);
often atrociously cruel {many Slavs, Persians, characters
Semites, Indonesians and even South Europeans);
aesthetic sense highly, ethic slightly developed. All brave,
imaginative, musical, and richly endoived intellectually. 2. Earn-
est, energetic, and enterprising; steadfast, solid, and stolid;
outwardly reserved, thoughtful, and deeply religious; humane,
firm, but not normally cruel.
Speech, mostly of the inflecting order with strong tendency
towards analytical forms ; very few stock languages {Aryan,
Ibero-Hafnito-Semitic), except in the Caucasus, where stock
languages of highly agglutinating types are numerous, and
in Indonesia, where one agglutinating stock language pre-
vails.
Religion, mainly Monotheistic, with or without priesthood
and sacrifice {Jewish, Christian, Muhammadan); polytheistic
and animistic in parts of Caucasus, India, Incbnesia,and Africa.
Gross superstitions still prevalent in many places.
Culture, generally high — all arts, industries, science,
philosophy and letters in a flourishing state now almost every-
where except in Africa and Indonesia, and still progressive.
In some regions civilisation dates from, an early period {Egypt,
South Arabia, Babylonia; the Minoan, Hellenic, Hittite, and
Italic cultures). Indonesians and many Hainites still rude,
with primitive usages, few arts, no science or letters, and
cannibalism prevalent in some places {Gallaland).
Mediterranean type : most Iberians, Corsicans, Sards,
440 Man: Past and Present [CH-
Sicilians, Italians; some Greeks; Berbers and other Ha-
mites; Arabs and other Semites; some Hindus;
Divi^s Dravidians, Todas, Ainus, Indonesians, some
Polynesians.
Nordic type : Scandinavians, North-west Germans,
Dutch, Flemings, most English, Scotch, some Irish, Anglo-
Americans, Anglo- Australasians, English and , Dutch of
S. Africa; Thrako-Hellenes, true Kurds, most West Persians,
Afghans, Dards and Siah-post Kafirs,
Alpine type : most French, South Germans, Swiss and
Tyrolese ; Russians, Poles, Chekhs, Yugo-Slavs; some Al-
banians and Rumanians; Armenians, Tajiks {East Persians),
Galchas.
It is a remarkable fact that the Caucasic division of the
human family, of which nearly all students of the subject are
members, with which we are in any case, so to
Considerations ^^^^ °" '^^ most intimate terms, and with the
constituent elements of which we might conse-
quently be supposed to be best acquainted, is the most
debatable field in the whole range of anthropological studies.
Why this should be so is not at first sight quite apparent,
though the phenomenon may perhaps be partly explained by
the consideration that the component parts are really of a more
complex character, and thus present more intricate problems
for solution, than those of any other division. But to some
extent this would also seem to be one of those cases in which
we fail to see the wood for the trees. To put it plainly, few
will venture to deny that the inherent difficulties of the subject
have in recent times been rather increased than diminished by
the bold and often mutually destructive theories, and, in some
instances one might add, the really wild speculations put
forward in the earnest desire to remove the endless obscurities
in which the more fundamental questions are undoubtedly still
involved. Controversial matter which seemed thrashed out
has been reopened, several fresh factors have been brought,
into play, and the warfare connected with such burning topics
as Aryan origins, Ibero-Pelasgic relations, European round-
heads and long-heads, has acquired renewed intensity amid
the rival theories of eminent champions of new ideas.
The question is not made any simpler by the frequent
attacks that have been directed from more than one quarter
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 441
against the long-established Caucasic terminology, and welL
supported objections are raised to the use of such time-honoured
names as " Hamitic," "Semitic," and even "Caucasic" itself.
But no really satisfactory substitute for " Caucasic " has yet
been suggested, and it is doubtful if any name could be found
sufficiently comprehensive to include all the races, long-headed
and short-headed, fair and dark, tall and short, that we are at
present content to group under this non-committal heading.
Undoubtedly the term "Caucasic" cannot be defended on
ethnical grounds. "Nowhere else in the world probably is
so heterogeneous a lot of people, languages and religions
gathered together in one place as along the chain of the
Caucasus mountains\" But we are no more called upon to
believe that the " Caucasic " peoples originated in the Caucasus,
than that the Semites are all descendants of Shem or Hamites
of Ham. " Caucasic " has one claim that can never be dis-
puted, that of priority, and it would be well if innovators in
these matters were to take to heart the sober language of
Ehrenreich, who reminds us that the accepted names are,
what they ought to be, " purely conventional," and "historically
justified/' and " should be held as valid until something better
can be found to take their place^" It was considerations such
as these, weighing so strongly in favour of current usage, that
induced me stare per vias antiquas in the Ethnology, and con-
sequently also in the present work. Hence, here as there,
the Caucasic Division retains its title, together with those of
its main subdivisions — Hamitic, Semitic, Keltic, Slavic, Hel-
lenic, Teutonic, Iranic, Galchic and so on.
The chief exception is "Aryan," a linguistic expression
forced by the philologists into the domain of Ethnology, where
it has no place or meaning. There was of course a time when
a community, or group of communities, existed probably in the
steppe region between the Carpathians and the Hindu-Kush',
1 The Races of Europe: A Sociological Study, W. Z. Ripley, 1900, p. 437.
2 "Diese Namen sind natiirlich rein conventionell. Sie sind historisch berech-
tigt...und mogen Geltung behalten, so lange wir keine zutrefferenden an ihre Stella
setzen konnen" {Anthropologische Studien, etc., p. 15).
' E. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, 1909, 1. 2, discussing the original home
of the Indo-Europeans (§ 561, Das Problem der Heimat und Ausbreitung der Indo-
germanen) remarks (p. 800) that the discovery of Tocharish (Sieg und Siegling,
"Tocbarish, die Sprache der Indo-skythen," Sitz. d. Berl. Ak. 1908, p. 915 ff.), a
language belonging apparently to the centum (Western and European) group, over-
throws, all eariier conceptions as to the distribution of the Indogermans and gives
weight to the hypothesis of their Asiatic origin.
442 Man : Past and Present [ch.
by whom the Aryan mother- tongiie was evolved, and who still
for a time presented a certain uniformity in their physical
characters, were, in fact, of Aryan speech and type. But while
their Aryan speech persists in endlessly modified forms, they
have themselves long disappeared as a distinct race, merged
in the countless other races on whom they, perhaps as con-
querors, imposed their Aryan language. Hence we can and
must speak of Aryan tongues, and of an Aryan linguistic
family, which continues to flourish and spread over the globe.
But of an Aryan race there can be no further question since
the absorption of the original stock in a hundred other races
in remote prehistoric times. Where comprehensive references
have to be made, I therefore substitute for Aryans and Aryan
race the expression peoples of Aryan speech, at least wherever
the unqualified term Aryan might lead to misunderstandings.
This way of looking at the question, which has now become
more thorny than ever, has the signal advantage of being in-
different to any preconceived theories regarding the physical
characters of that long vanished proto- Aryan race. How great
this advantage is may be judged from the mere statement that,
while German anthropologists are still almost to a man loyal
to the traditional view that the first Aryans were best repre-
sented by the tall, long-headed, tawny-haired, blue-eyed
Teutonic barbarians of Tacitus — who, Virchow tells us, have
completely disappeared from sight in the present population
— the Italian school, or at least its chief exponent, Sergi, was
equally convinced that the picture was a myth, that such
Aryans never existed, that " the true primitive Aryans were
not long, but round-headed, not fair but dark, not tall but
short, and are in fact to-day best represented by the round-
headed Kelts, Slavs, and South Germans'."
The fact is that the Aryan prototype has vanished as
completely as has the Aryan mother-tongue, and can be con-
jecturally restored only by processes analogous to those by
which Schleicher and other philologists have endeavoured
with dubious success to restore the organic Aryan speech as
constituted before the dispersion.
But here arises the more important question, by what right
are so many and such diverse peoples grouped together and
ticketed " Caucasians " ? Are they to be really taken as
' "lo non dubito di denominare aria questa stirpe etc." {Utnbri, Italici, Arii,
Bologna, 1897, p. 14, and elsewhere).
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 443
objectively one, or are they merely artificial groupings, arbi-
trarily arranged abstractions? Certainly this
Caucasic division consists apparently of the |°emeS"*
most heterogeneous elements, more so than
perhaps any other. Hence it seems to require a strong
mental effort to sweep into a single category, however elastic,.
so many different peoples — Europeans, North Africans, West
Asiatics, Iranians and others all the way to the Indo-Gangetic
plains and uplands, whose complexion presents every shade of
colour, except yellow, from white to the deepest brown or
even black.
But they are grouped together in a single division, because
of certain common characteristics, and because, as pointed out
by Ehrenreich, who himself emphasises these objections, their
substantial uniformity speaks to the eye that sees below the
surface. At the first glance, except perhaps in a few extreme
cases for which it would be futile to create independent cate-
gories, we recognise a common racial stamp in the facial
expression, the structure of the hair, partly also the bodily-
proportions, in all of which points they agree more with each
other than with the- other main divisions. Even in the case
of certain black or very dark races, such as the Beja, Somali,
and a few other Eastern Hamites, we are reminded instinctively
more of Europeans or Berbers than of negroes, thanks to their
more regular features and brighter expression. "Those who
will accept nothing unless it can be measured, weighed, and
numbered, may think perhaps that according to modern notions
this appeal to the outward expression is unscientific. Never-
theless nobody can deny the evidence of the obvious physical
differences between Caucasians, African Negroes, Mongols,
Australians and so on. After all, physical anthropology itself
dates only from the moment when we became conscious of
these differences, even before we were able to give them exact
expression by measurements. It was precisely the general
picture that spoke powerfully and directly to the eye\" The
argument need not here be pursued farther, as it will receive
abimdant illustration in the details to follow.
Since the discovery of the New and the Austral Worlds,
the Caucasic division as represented by the chief European
1 Anthrop. Studten, p. ij, "Diese Gemeinsamkeit der Charakteren beweist uns
die Blutverwandtschaft" (ib.).
444 Man : Past and Present :[ch.
nations has received an enormous expansion. Here of course
it is necessary to distinguish between political and ethnical
conquests, as, for instance, those of India, held by military
tenure, and of Australia by actual settlement. Politically the
whole world has become Caucasic with the exception of half-
• a-dozen states such as China, Turkey, Japan, Siam, Maroeco,
still enjoying a real or fictitious autonomy. But, from thfe
ethnical standpoint, those regions in which the Caucasic peoples
can establish themselves and perpetuate their race as colonists
are alone to be. regarded as fresh accessions to the original and
later (historical) Caucasic domains. Such fresh accessions are
however of vast extent, including the greater part of Siberia
and adjoining regions, where Slav branches of the Aryan-
speaking peoples are now founding permanent new homes ;
the whole of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, which
have become the inheritance of the Caucasic inhabitants of the
British Isles ; large tracts in South Africa, already occupied
by settlers chiefly from Holland and Great Britain ; lastly the
New World, where most of the northern continent is settled
by full-blood Europeans, mainly British, French and German,
while in the rest (Central and South America) the Caucasic
immigrants (chiefly from the Iberian peninsula) have formed
new ethnical groups by fusion with the aborigines. These new
accessions, all acquired within the last 400 years.
Present Range, "^''•y ^^ roughly estimated at about 28 mjllion
square miles, which with some 12 millions held
throughout the historic period (Africa north of Sudan, most of
Europe, South- West and parts of Central and South Asia,
Indonesia) gives an extent of 40 million square miles to the
present Caucasic domain, either actually occupied or in process
of settlement. As the whole of the dry land scarcely exceeds
52 millions, this leaves not more than about 12 millions for
,the now reduced domains of all the other divisions, and even
of this a great part {e.g. Tibetan table-land, Gobi, tundras,
Greenland) is barely or not at all inhabitable. This, it may
be incidentally remarked, is perhaps the best reply to those
who have in late years given expression to gloomy forebodings
regarding the ultimate fate of the Caucasic races. The "yellow
scare" may be dismissed with the reflection that the Caucasian .
populations, who have inherited or acquired nearly four-fifths
of the earth's surface besides the absolute dominion of the high
seas, is not destined to be submerged by any conceivable com-
xin] The Cducasic Peoples 445
bination of all the other elements, still less by the Mongol
alone \
Where have we to seek the primeval home of this most
vigorous and dominant branch of the human family ? Since
no direct evidence can be cited, the answer
necessarily takes the form of a hypothesis, and ^Jorth^AJricll^
must rely mainly on the indirect evidence supplied
by our vague knowledge of geographical conditions in pleisto-
cene times, on past and present zoological distributions, with
here and there, the assistance of a hint gleaned from archaeo-
logical discoveries. We may deal first with the arguments
brought forward in favour of Africa north of Sudan. Here
were found in quaternary times all the physical elements which
zoologists demand for great specialisations — ample space, a
favourable climate and abundance of food, besides continuous
land connection at two or three points across the Mediterranean,
by which the pliocene and early pleistocene faunas moved
freely between the two continents.
Many of the speculations on the subject failed to convince,
largely because the writers took, so to say, the ground from
under their own feet, by submerging most of the
land under a vast "Quaternary Sahara Sea," '^^'^^l
which had no existence, and which, moreover,
reduced the whole of North Africa to a Mauretanian island,
a mere "appendix of Europe," as it is in one place expressly
called. Then this inconvenient inland basin was got rid of,
not by an outflow — being on the same level as the Atlantic,
of which it was, in fact figured as an inlet — but by " evapora-
tion," which process is however somehow confined to this
inlet, and does not affect either the Mediterranean or the
Atlantic itself. Nor is it explained how the oceanic waters
were prevented from rushing in according " as the Sahara sea
evaporated to become a desert." The attempt to evolve a
" Eurafrican race " in such an impossible area necessarily
broke down, other endless perplexities being involved in the
initial geological misconception.
Not only was the Sahara dry land in pleistocene times,
but it stood then at a considerably higher altitude than at
present, although its mean elevation is still estimated by
» Sir W. Crooke's anticipation of a possible future failure of the wheat supply
as affecting the destinies of the Caucasia peoples {Presidential Address at Meeting
Br. Assoc. Bristol, 1898) is an economic question which cannot here be discussed.
44^ Man: Past and Present [ch.
Chavanne at 1500 feet above sea-level. "Quaternary de-
posits cover wide areas, and were at one time supposed to be
of marine origin. It was even held that the great sand dunes
must have been formed under the sea ; but at this date it is
scarcely necessary to discuss such a view. The advocates of
a Quaternary Sahara Sea argued chiefly from the discovery
of marine shells at several points in the middle of the Sahara.
But Tournouer has shown that to call in the aid of a great
ocean in order to explain the presence of one or two shells is
a needless expenditure of energy \"
At an altitude of probably over 2000 feet the Sahara must
have enjoyed an almost ideal climate during late pliocene and
pleistocene times, when Europe was exposed to more than one
glacial invasion, and to a large extent covered at long intervals
by a succession of solid ice-caps. We now know that these
stony and sandy wastes were traversed in all directions by
great rivers, such as the Massarawa trending south to the
Niger, or the Igharghar'' flowing north to the Mediterranean,
and that these now dry beds may still be traced for hundreds
of miles by chains of pools or lakelets,, by long eroded valleys
and by other indications of the action of running waters.
Nor could there be any lack of vegetable or animal life in
a favoured region, which was thus abundantly supplied with
natural irrigation arteries, while the tropical heats were tempered
by great elevation and at times by the refreshing breezes from
sub-arctic Europe.
From these well-watered and fertile lands, some of which
continued even in Roman times to be the granary of the empire,
came that succession of southern animals — hippopotamus,
hyaena, rhinoceros, elephant, cave-lion — which made Europe
seem like a "zoological appendix of Africa." In association
with this fauna may have come man himself, for although
North Africa has not yet yielded evidence of a widespread
culture comparable to that of the Palaeolithic Age in Europe,
1 Ph. Lake, "The Geology of the Sahara," in Science Progress, July, 1895.
^ This name, meaning in Berber "running water," has been handed down from
a time when the Igharghar was still a mighty stream with a northerly course of
some 800 miles, draining an area of many thousand square miles, in which tiiere is
not at present a single perennial brooklet. It would appear that even crocodiles
still survive from those remote times in the so-called Lake Miharo of the Tassili
district, where von Bary detected very distinct traces of their presence in 1876.
A. E. Pease also refers to a Frenchman "who had satisfied himself of the existence
of crocodiles cut off in ages long ago from watercourses that have disappeared"
(Coniemp. Review, July, 1S96). . ,
xin] The Caucasic Peoples 447
yet the negroid characters of the Grimaldi skeletons have been
held to prove an early connection between the opposite shores
of the Mediterranean. The hypothesis of African origin is
supported by archaeological evidence of the presence of early
man all over North Africa from the shores of the Mediterranean
through Egypt to Somaliland. Thus one of J. de Morgan's
momentous conclusions was that the existence of civilised men
in Egypt might be reckoned by thousands, and of the aborigines
by myriads of years. These aborigines he identified with the
men of the Old Stone Age, of whom he believed four stations
to have been discovered^Dahshur, Abydos, Tukh, and
Thebes'.
Of Tunisia Ars^ne Dumont declared that " the immense
period of time during which man made use of stone implements
is nowhere so strikingly shown." Here some of the flints were
found in abundance under a thick bed of quaternary limestone
deposited by the waters of a stream that has disappeared.
Hence "the origin of man in Mauretania must be set back to
a remote' age which deranges all chronology and confounds
the very fables of the mythologies^"
The skeleton found in 19 14 by Hans Reck at Oldoway
(then German East Africa) was claimed to be of Pleistocene
Age, but according to A. Keith "the' evidence... cannot be
accepted as having finally proved this degree of antiquity'."
The doctrine of the specialisation of the dolichocephalic
European types in Africa, before their migrations northwards,
lies at the base of Sergi's views regarding the African origin
of those types. Arguing against the Asiatic origin of the
Hamites, as held by Prichard, Virchow, Sayce and others, he
points out that this race, scarcely if at all represented in Asia,
has an immense range in Africa, where its several sub-varieties
must have been evolved before their dispersion over a great
part of that continent and of Europe. Then, regarding
Hamites and Semites as essentially one, he concludes that
Africa is the cradle whence this primitive stock "spread
northwards to Europe, where it still persists, especially in the
' Recherches sur les Origines de tJEgypte: L'Age de la Pierre et des Mdtaux,
1897.
2 Bui. Soc. d'Anthrop. 1896, p. 394. This indefatigable explorer remarks, in
reference to the continuity of human culture in Tunisia throughout the Old and
New Stone Ages, that."ces populations fortement mdang^es d'dl^ments n^ander-
thaloides de la Kromirie fabriquent encore des vases de tous points analogues k la
poterie n^olithique" {ib.).
3 The Antiquity of Man, 1915, p. 255.
448 Man: Past and Present [cH.
Mediterranean and its three principal peninsulas, and eastwards
to West Asia\"
The theory of an African cradle for the dolichocephalic
Mediterranean type does not lack supporters, but when, re-
lying on the undeniable presence of brachycephals, some
writers would derive the Alpine type from the same area, the
larger aspect of continental migrations appears to be overlooked
(see pp. 45 1-2 below). To constitute a distinct race, says Zabo-
rowski, a wide geographical area is needed, such as is presented
by both shores of the Mediterranean "with the whole of North
Africa including the Sahara, which was till lately still thickly
peopled''." Then to the question by whom has this North
African and Mediterranean region been inhabited since qua-
ternary times, he answers " by the ancestors of our Libyans,
Egyptians, Pelasgians, Iberians"; and after rejecting the
Asiatic theory, he elsewhere arrives at " the grand generalisa-
tion that the whole of North Africa, connected by land with
Europe in the Quaternary epoch, formed part of the geo-
graphical area of the ancient white race, of which the Egyptians,
so far from being the parent stem, would appear to be merely
a branch'."
Coming to details, Bertholon^ from the human remains
found by Carton at Bulla- Regia, determined for Tunisia and
Early European Surrounding lands two main long-headed types,
andMauretanian one like the Neandertal (occurring both in
types. Khumeria, and in the stations abounding in
palaeoliths), the other like the later Cro-Magnon dolmen-
builders, whom De Quatrefages had already identified with
the tall, long-headed, fair, and even blue-eyed Berbers still
met in various parts of Mauretania, and formerly represented
in the Canary Islands". Bertholon agrees with CoUignon
that the Mauretanian megalith-builders are of the same race
as those of Europe, and besides the two long-headed races
1 Africa, Aniropologia della Stirpe Catnitica, Turin, 1897, p. 404 sq.
2 " Le nord de TAfrique entifere, y compris le Sahara nagufere encore fort peupl^"
i.e. of course relatively speaking, " Du Dniester &. laCaspienne," mBul. Soc.d'Anthrop.
1896, p. 81 sq.
3 Ibid. p. 654 sq.
* Resumd de t Anthropologie de la Tunisie, 1896, p. 4 sq.
^ This identity is confirmed by the characters of three skulls from the dolmens
of Madracen near Batna, Algeria, now in the Constantine Museum, found by
Letourneau and Papillaut to present striking affinities with the long-headed Cro-
Magnon race (Ceph. Index 70, 74, 78) ; leptoprosope with prominent glabella, notable
alveolar prognathism, and sub-occipital bone projecting chignon-fa^hion at the back
{Bui. Soc. d'Anthrop. 1896, p. 347).
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 449
describes (i) a short round-headed type in Gerba Island and
East Tunisia^ representing the Libyans proper, and (2) a
blond type of the Sahel, Khumeria, and other parts, whom
he identifies with the Mazices of Herodotus, with the " Afri,"
whose name has been extended to the whole continent, and
the blond Getulians of the Aures Mountains.
It has been objected that, as established by de Lapouge
and Ripley, there are three distinct ethnical zones in Europe :
— ( I ) Nordic : the tall, fair, long-headed northern xhe Three
type, commonly identified by the Germans with Great European
the race represented by the osseous remains from E*°"=^ Groups,
the " Reihengraber," i.e. the " Germanic," which the French
call Kymric or Aryan, for which de Lapouge reserves Linn^'s
Homo europaeus, and to which Ripley applies the term
" Teutonic," because the whole combination of characters
"accords exactly with the descriptions handed down to us by
the ancients. Such were the Goths, Ostrogoths, Visigoths,
Vandals, Lombards, together with the Danes, Norsemen,
Saxons History is thus corroborated by natural science."
{2) Mediterranean : the southern zone of short, dark, long-
heads, i.e. the primitive element in Iberia, Italy, South France,
Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and Greece, called Iberians by the
English, and identified by many with the Ligurians, Pelasgians,
and allied peoples, grouped together by Ripley as Mediter-
raneans". (3) Alpine : the central zone of short, medium-
sized round-heads with light or chestnut hair, and gray or
hazel eye, de Lapouge's and Ripley's Homo alpinus, the Kelts
or Kelto-Slavs of the French, the Ligurians or Arvernians
of Beddoe and other English writers. Here belong the tall
Armenoids, the Armenians being descendants of the Hittites.
The question is, Can all these have come from North
^ He shows' ("Exploration Anthropologique de I'lle de Gerba," in VAnthropolo-
gie, 1897, p. 424 sq.) that the North African brown brachycephahcs, forming the sub-
stratum in Mauretania, and very pure in Gerba, resemble the European populations
the more they have avoided contact with foreign races. He quotes^ H. Martin :
" Le type brun qui domine dans la Grande Kabylie du Jurjura ressemble singuli^re-
ment en majority au type frangais brun. Si I'on habillait ces hommes de vgtements
europdens, vous ne les distingueriez pas de paysans ou de soldats frangais." He
compares them especially to the Bretons, and agrees with Martin that "il y a parmi
les Berbferes bruns des brachycdphales ; je croirais volontiers que les brachyc^phales
bruns sorit des Ligures. Libyens et Ligures paraissent- avoir dtd originairement de
la mSme race." He thinks the very names are the same: "AijSues est exactement
le m^me mot que Kiyva ; rien n'dtait plus frequent dans les dialectes primitifs que
la mutation du b en g."
^ The Races of Europe, iqoo, passim.
K. 29
450 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Africa ? We have seen that this region has yielded the
remains of one round-headed and two long-headed prehistoric
types. Henri Malbot pointed out that, as far back as we can
go, we meet the two quite distinct long-headed Berber types,
and he holds that this racial duality is proved by the megalithic
tombs (dolmens) of Roknia between Jemmapes and Guelma,
possibly some 4000 or 5000 years old. The remains here
found by L. L. C. Faidherbe belong to two different races,
both dolichocephalic, but one tall, with prominent zygomatic
arches and very strong nasal spine (it reads almost like the
description of a brawny Caledonian), the other short, with
well-balanced skull and small nasal spine'. The earliest
(Egyptian) records refer to brown and blond populations
living in North Africa some 5000 years ago, and it has been
claimed that the raw materials, so to say, were here to hand
both of the fair northern and dark southern European long-
heads.
These different races were repi'esented even amongst the
extinct Guanches of the Canary Islands, as shown by a study
TheQuanches- °^ ^^^ 52 heads procured in 1894 by H. Meyer
Types and Affi- from caves in the archipelago^ Three distinct
nit'es. types are determined : ( i ) Guanche, akin to the
Cro-Magnon, tall (5 ft. 8 in. to 6 ft. 2 in.), robust, dolicho (78),
low, broad fac'e ; large eyes, rather short nose ; fair, reddish
or light chestnut hair ; skin and eyes light ; ranged throughout
the islands, but centred chiefly in Tenerife ; (2) "Semitic"
short (5 ft. 4 or 5 in.), slim, narrow mesocephalic head (81),
narrow, long face, black hair, light brown skin, dark eyes ;
range. Grand Canary, Palma, and Hierro ; (3) Armenoid, akin
to von Luschan's pre-Semitic of Asia Minor ; shorter than
I and 2 ; very short, broad, and high skull (hyperbrachy, 84) ;
hair, skin and eyes very probably of the West Asiatic brunette
type ; range, mainly in Gomera, but met everywhere. Many
of the skulls had been trepanned, and these are brought into
' "Les Chaouias," etc., in L'Antkropologie, 1897, p. i sq.
2 Ueber eine Schiidelsammlung von den Kanarischen Inseln, with F. von
Luschan's appendix; also "Ueber die Urbewohner der Kanarischen Inseln," in
Bastian-Festschrift, 1896, p. 63. The inferences here drawn are in substantial
agreement with those of Henry Wallack, in his paper on "The Guanches," mjourn.
Anthr. Inst. June, 1887, p. 158 sq. ; and also with J. C. Shrubsall, who,.however,
distinguishes four pre-Spanish types from a study of numerous skulls and other
remains from Tenerife in Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc. ix. I54-78.' The 152 cave
skulls measured by Von Detloff von Behr, Metrische Studien an 152 Guanchen-
schddeln, 1908, agree in the main with earlier results.
xni] The Caucasic Peoples 451
direct association with the full-blood Berbers of the Aures
Mts. in Algeria, who still practise trepanning for wounds,
headaches, and other reasons. This type is scarcely to
be distinguished from Lapouge's short brown Homo alpinus,
which dates from the Stone Ages, and is found in densest
masses in the Central Alpine regions, but the true Armenoids
are differentiated by their, taller stature'.
How numerous were the inhabitants of France at that
time may be inferred from the long list of no less than 4000
neolithic stations given for that region by Ph. Salmon. Of
the 688 skulls from those stations measured by him,. 577 per
cent, are classed as dolicho, 21-2 as brachycephalic, and 21-1
as intermediate. This distinguished palethnologist regards
the intermediates as the result of crossings origin of the
between the two others, and of these he thinks European
the first arrivals were the round-heads, who Brachycephals.
ranged over a vast area, between Brittany, the Channel, the
Pyrenees, and the Mediterranean, 60 per cent, of the graves
hitherto studied containing skulls of this type". Belgium also,
where a mixture of long- and round-heads is found amongst
the men of Furfooz, must be included in this neolithic brachy
domain, which can be traced as far westward as the British
Isles'. Attempts have been made, as indicated above, to
derive these brachycephals, as well as the dolichocephals, from
North Africa, in accordance with the view that the latter
region was the true centre of evolution and of dispersion for
all the main branches of the Caucasic family, but this theory
has few supporters at the present time. Sergi recognised the
Asiatic origin of the neolithic round-heads and regarded them
as "peaceful infiltrations'*,'' forerunners of the great invasions
of the later Metal Ages. Verneau points out° that when all
the neolithic stations in which brachycephalic skulls have been
discovered are plotted out on a map of Europe it is easy to
recognise a current running almost directly from east to west.
Moreover towards the west this current divides, being clearly
separated by zones of dolichocephaly.
' For an interpretation of the significance of Armenoid skulls in the Canary Is.
see G. Elliot Smith, The Ancient Egyptians, 191 1, pp. 156-7.
2 " Ddnombrement et Types des Cr4nes N^olithiques de la Gaule," in Rev.
Mens, de I'^cole (VAnthrop. i8g6.
3 T. Rice Holmes, Ancient Britain, 1907, p. 424.
* " Infiltrazioni pacifiche." {Arii e Italici, p. 124.)
5 L'Anthr. xii. 1901, pp. 547-8.
29 — 2
452 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Evidence of the presence in early times of tall blond
peoples in Africa, side by side with a short dark population,
and of brachycephals together with dolichocephals, proves that
even in the Stone Age ethnic mixtures had already taken
place, and racial purity — if indeed it ever existed — must be
sought for in still remoter periods.
With Sergi's view which trace;s the neolithic inhabitants
of the northern shores of the Mediterranean (Iberians, Ligu-
rians, Messapians, Siculi and other Itali, Pelasgians), to North
Africa, most anthropologists agreed Also that all or most of
these were primarily of a dark (brown), short, dolicho type,
which still persists both in South Europe and North Africa,
and in fact is the race which Ripley properly calls " Mediter-
ranean," although in the west they almost certainly ranged
into Brittany and the British Isles. But there are some who
hold that the migration was in the opposite direction, and
derive the North African branch from Europe, rather than the
European branches from Africa. " Anthropologists who have
specially studied the question of the Berbers or Kabyles have
concluded that they are descendants of prehistoric European
invaders who occupied the tracts that suited them best^" In
France the neolithic "Mediterranean type" has been regarded
as lineally descended from palaeolithic predecessors in situ^.
Some would even go further still, and claim Europe as the
place of origin not only of the Mediterranean but also of the
Alpine and Northern branches. "The so-called three races
of Europe are in the main the result of variation from a com-
mon European stock, a variation due to isolation and natural
selection*."
Without making any claim to finality the following perhaps
best represents orthodox opinion at the present time. It may
be assumed that man evolved somewhere in
Or&o'^view Southern Asia in pliocene times, and that the
early groups possessed a tendency to variability
which was directed to some extent by geographical conditions
and became fixed by isolation. The tall fair blue-eyed dolicho-
cephals (Northern Race) and the short dark dolichocephals
1 Cf. G. Elliot Smith, The Ancient Egyptians, 191 1, p. 58 ff.
''■ T. Rice Holmes, Caesar^ Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, p. 266, with list of authorities.
See also Sigmund Feist, KuUur, Ausbreitung und Herkunft der Indogerm<znen,
1913) P- 364, and H. H. Johnston, "A Survey of the Ethnography of Aincsi," Journ.
Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLIll. 1913, pp. 386 and 387.
' T. Rice Holmes, loc. cit. p. 272.
* W. Wright, Middlesex Hospital Journal, xii. 1908, p. 44.
xin] The Cducasic Peoples 453
(Mediterranean Race) may be regarded as two varieties of a
common stock, the former having their area of characterisation
in the steppes north of the plateaus of Eur- Asia, and migrating
eastwards and westwards as the country dried after the last
glacial phase. The southern branch, entering East Africa
from Southern Asia, spread all over North Africa ; those in
the east were the archaic Egyptians ; to the west were the
Libyans whose descendants are the Berbers ; those who crossed
the Mediterranean formed the European branches of the
Mediterranean race. With regard to the third type, while the
J J central plateaus of Asia were the centre of dispersal for the true
Mongols the western plateaus were the area of characterisation
of a non- Mongolian brachycephalic race, which includes short
and tall varieties. This is the Alpine race, which extends from
the Hindu Kush to Brittany, and formerly spread further
westwards into the British Isles\
The problem of European origins has often in the past
been obscured rather than enlightened by an appeal to lin-
guistics, but linguistic factors cannot altogether
be ignored. No doubt the earliest populations Evidence*^
of the Mediterranean shores during the Stone
Age spoke non-Aryan languages, but it is only here and there
that traces — mostly indecipherable — can be discovered. On
the African side we have the Berber language still in its full
vigour ; and apparently little changed for thousands of years.
But in Europe the primitive tongues have everywhere been
swept away by the Aryan (Hellenic, Italic, Keltic) except in
. the region of the Pyrenees. In Italy Etruscan is the only
language which can with safety be called non-Aryan'', though
the place of Ligurian is still under dispute^ Of Pelasgian, no-
thing survives except the statement of Herodotus, a dangerous
guide in this "matter, that it was a barbaric tongue like the
peoples themselves*, but Ridgeway considers it Indo-European".
Further east, in Asia Minor, neither Karian inscriptions and
glosses nor occasional Lydian" and Mysian glosses afford any
1 See A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of Peoples, 191 1, pp. 16, 17, 55.
2 R. S. Conway, The Italic Dialects, 1897, and Art. "Etruria: La.nga3.ge,'' Ency.
Brit. 191 1.
3 Cf. T. Rice Holmes, Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, p. 283. "The truth is that
linguistic data are insufficient."
* I. 57. ^ See p. 465.
^ For Lydian see E. Littmann, Sardis, "Lydian Inscriptions," 1916, briefly sum-
marised by P. Giles, "Some Notes on the New Lydian Inscriptions," Camb. Univ.
Rep. 1917, p. 587.
454 Man : Past and' Present [ch,
safe basis for establishing relationships^; the fuller evidence of
Lycian leaves its position indeterminate" and the Cretan script
is still undeciphered'.
But in Iberia besides the Iberian inscriptions, which, so
far, remain indecipherable*, there survives the Basque of the
western Pyrenees, which beyond question represents a form
of speech which was current in the peninsula in pre-Aryan
times, and on the assumption of a common origin of the
populations on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar might be
expected to show traces of kinship with Berber,
asques. j^ ^ posthumous work on this subject", the
eminent philologist G. von der Gabelenz goes much further
than mere traces, and clairns to establish not only phonetic
and verbal resemblances, but structural correspondences, so
that his editor Graf von der Schulenberg was satisfied as to
the relationship of the two languages^ This conclusion has
not, however, met with general acceptance' and the affinities
of Basque with Finno-Ugrian cannot be overlooked I A study
of the physical features of the modern Basques adds complexity
to the problem. Most observers are agreed that a distinct
Basque type exists, and this physical and linguistic singularity
has led to various more or less fanciful theories "connecting
the Basques with every outlandish language and bankrupt
people under the sun°," while G. Herve" would regard them
as forming by themselves a separate ethnic group, " a fourth
European race." On the other hand Feist" has grounds for
1 S. Feist, Kultur, Ausbreitung und Herkunft der Indogermanen, 1913, p. 385.
2 "The attempts to connect the language with the Indo-European family have
been unsuccessful," A. H. Sayce, Art. "Lycia," Ency. Brit. 191 1. But cf. also S.
Feist, loc. cit. pp. 385-7; and Th. Kluge, Die Lykier, ihre Geschtchte und ihre
Inschriften, 19 10.
^ A. J. Evans, Scripta Minoa, 1909.
* T. Rice Holmes, Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, p. 289 n. 4.
^ Die Verwandtschaft des Baski'schen mit den Berberspracheh Nord-Afrikas
nackgewiesen, 1894.
* "Die Sprachen waren mit einander verwandt, das stand ausser Zweifel."
(Pref IV.)
' J. Vinson {Rev. de linguistique, xxxvili. 1905, p. in) says, "no more absurd
book on Basque has appeared of late years." See T. Rice Holmes, Caesar's Conquest
of Gaul, 191 1, p. 299 n. 3.
8 " In the general series of organised linguistic families it [Basque] would take
an intermediate place between the American on the one side and the Ugro-Alta'ic
or Ugrian on the other." Wentworth Webster and Tulien Vinson, Ency. Brit. 1910,
"Basques."
' See W. Z. Ripley, The Races of Europe, 1900, Chap. Vlii. "The Basques,"
pp. 180-204.
'* Rev. mensuelle de I'Acole d'Anthr. x.' 1900, pp. 225-7.
" S. 7 &\'st, Kultur, Ausbreitung und Herkunft der Indogermanenj 191 3.
'^m] The Caucasic Peoples 455
claiming that the Basques are not, in anthropological respects,
essentially different from their Spanish or French neighbours
(P- 357) and Jullian^ denies them more than a superficial unity.
These apparently conflicting opinions are reconciled by the
conclusions of R. Collignon', himself one of the best authori-
ties on the subject. " The physical traits characteristic of the
Basques attach them unquestionably (' indiscutablement ') to
the great Hamitic branch of the white races, that is to say,
to the ancient Egyptians and to the various groups commonly
comprised under the collective name of Berbers. Their
brachycephaly, slight as, it is, cannot outweigh the aggregate
of the other characters which they present. ...It is therefore in
this direction and not amongst Finns or Esthonians that is to
be sought the parent stem of this paradoxical race. It is
North African or European, assuredly not Asiatic." Collignon's
explanation of the Basque type is that it is a sub-species of
the Mediterranean stock evolved by long-continued and com-
plete isolation, and in-and-in breeding, primarily engendered by
peculiarity of language. The effects of heredity, aided perhaps
by artificial selection, have generated local peculiarities and
have developed them to an extreme'.
"The Iberian question," says Rice Holmes, "is the most
complicated and difficult of all the problems of Gallic eth-
nology ^" From the testimony of Greek and _^ ,^ .
T-, o-' , , , , -' ^ ,, . The Iberians.
Roman authors, he draws the lollowmg con-
clusions. "The name Iberian was probably applied, in the
first instance, only to the people who dwelt between the Ebro
and the Pyrenees. The Iberians once occupied the seaboard
of Gaul between the Rhdne and the Pyrenees ; but Ligurians
encroached upon this part of their territory. They also
probably occupied the whole eastern region of the Spanish
peninsula. But," he adds, "we must bear in mind that the
data are both insufficient and. uncertain " (p. 288). Later
(p. 301), reviewing the evidence collected by philologists and
1 Hist, de la Gaule, I. 1908, p. 271.
2 "La Race Basque," L'Antkrop. 1894.
3 W. Z. Ripley, loc. cit. p. 200.
* Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, p. 287. Cf. J. V)kc\iA^\Xe.{Manueld.'Arch^o-
logie prMstorique, II. 1910, p. 27), "As a rule it is wise to attach to this expression
(Iberian) merely a geographical value." Reviewing the problems of Iberian origins
(which he considers remain unsolved), he quotes as an example of their range, the
opinion of C. JuUian (Revue des Etudes Anciennes, 1903, p. 383), "There is no
Iberian race. The Iberians were a state constituted at latest towards the 6th century,
in the valley of the Ebro, which received, either from strangers or from the indigenous
peoples, the .name of the river as mm de guerre.'^
456 Man: Past and Present [ch.
by craniologists, he continues, "it seems to me prooable that
the Iberians comprised both people who spoke, or whose
ancestors had spoken, Basque, and people who spoke the
language or languages^ of the 'Iberian' inscriptions; that to
observers who had not learned to measure skulls and knew
nothing of scientific methods, they appeared to be homogeneous;
that the prevailing type was that which is now called Iberian
and is seen at its purest in Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily ; but
that a certain proportion of the whole population may have
been characterised by physical features more or less closely
resembling those which the modern Basques — French and
Spanish — possess in common, and which, as MM. Broca and
Collignon tell us, distinguish them from all other European
peoples. Finally it seems probable that the true Iberians
wer^ the people who spoke the languages of the inscriptions,
and that Basque was spoken by a people who occupied Spain
and Southern Gaul before the Iberians arrived. But unless
and until the key to those appalling inscriptions is found, the
problem will never be solved."
The Ligurian question is still more complex than the
Iberian. For while no facts can be brought forward in direct
. contradiction of the assumption that the Iberians
igunans. ^gj.^ ^ short dark dolichocephalic population
occupying the Iberian peninsula in the Stone Age, and
speaking a non- Indo-European language, no such generalisa-
tions with regard to race, physical type, culture, geographical
distribution or language are accepted for the Ligurians. Some,
with Sergi^ consider the Ligurians merely as another branch
of the Mediterranean race. Others, with Zaborowskj', tracing
their presence among the modern inhabitants of Liguria, re-
gard them as representing the small, dark, brachycephalic race
at its purest. While many who recognise the Ligurians as
belonging to the Mediterranean physical type deny their
affinity with the Iberians. Meyer^ considers such a relation-
ship "not improbable," but D^chelette" shows that it is
absolutely untenable on archaeological grounds. The geo- ,
1 J. Vinson {Rev. de linguistique, XL. 1907, pp. 5, 211) divides the Iberian
inscriptions into three groups, each of which, he beUeves, ' represents a different
language.
^ The Mediterranean Race, 190 1.
^ Diet, des sc. anthr. p. 247, and Rev- de I'^cole d'Antkr. xvil, 1907, p. 365.
* Geschichte des Altertums, I. 2, 1909, p. 723.
^ Manuel d'ArcMologie prdhistorique, 11. 1910, p. 27 «., see also p. 22 for
archaeological proofs of "ethnographic distinctions."
^"i] The Caucasic Peoples 457
graphical range is equally uncertain. C. JuUian' distributes
Ligurians not only over the whole of Gaul, but also throughout
Western Europe, and attributes to them all the glories of
neolithic civilisation ; A. Bertrand'' thinks that they played
even in Gaul merely a secondary r61e ; D^chelette', on archaeo-
logical evidence, proves that the Ligurian period was par
excellence the Age of Bronze, and Ridgeway' identifies it with
the Terramare civilisation. Finally, if we follow Sergi, the
Ligurians must have spoken a non- Indo-European language ;
but the most eminent authorities are in the main agreed that
such traces of Ligurian as remain show affinities with Indo-
European'. With regard to their physical type Sergi puts
forward the view that the true Ligurians were like the Iberians,
a section of the long-headed Mediterranean (Afro-European)
stock. From prehistoric stations in the valley of the Po he
collected 59 skulls, all of this type, and all Ligurian; history
and tradition being of accord that before the arrival of the
Kelts this region belonged to the Ligurian domain. " If it
be true that prehistoric Italy was occupied by the Mediter-
ranean race and by two branches — Ligurian and Pelasgian —
of that race, the ancient inhabitants of the Po valley, now
exhumed in those 59 skulls, were Ligurian"."
These Ligurians have been traced from their homes on
the Mediterranean into Central Europe. From a study of
the neolithic finds made in Germany, in the dis- ugurians in
trict between Neustadt and Worms, C. Mehlis' Rhineland and
infers that here the first settlers were Ligurians, '**'y-
who had penetrated up the Rhone and Sa6ne into Rhineland.
In the Kircherian Museum in Rome he was surprised to find
a marked analogy between objects from the Riviera and from
^ Hist, de la Gaule, I. Chap. iv. The author makes it clear, however, that his
"Ligurians" are not necessarily an ethnic unit, "De I'unite de nom, ne concluons
pas kl'unitd de race" (119), and later (p. 120), "Ne considdrons done pas les Ligures
comme les reprdsentants uniformes d'une race d^terminde. lis sont la popula-
tion qui habitait I'Europe occidentale avant les invasions connues des Celtes ou des
Etrusques, avant la naissance des peuples latin ou, ib^re. lis ne sont pas autre
chose."
^ Gaule av. Gaulois, p. 248.
^ Loc. cit. p. 23 «. I.
* Early Age of Greece, 1901, p. 237 ff., and "Who were the Romans?" Proc.
Brit. Acad. III. 19, 1908, p. 3.
* See R. S. Conway, Art. "Liguria," Ency. Brit. 191 1. It may be noted, however,
as Feist points out {Ausbreitung und Herkunftdes Indogermane:n, 1913, p. 368), this
hypothesis rests on slight foundations ("ruht auf schwachen Fiifen").
* Arii e Italici, p. 60.
7 Corresbl. d. d. Ges.f. Anthrop., Feb. 1898, p. I2.
458 Man : Past and Present [ch.
the Rhine ; skulls (both dolicho), vases, stone implements,
mill-stones, etc., all alike. Such Ligurian objects, found
everywhere in North Italy, occur in the Rhine lands chiefly
along the left bank of the main stream between Basel and
Mainz, and farther north in the Rheingau at Wiesbaden, and
in the Lahn valley.
The Ligurians may of course have reached the Riviera
round the coast from Illiberis and Iberia; but the same race
is found as the aboriginal element also at the " heel of the
boot," and in fact throughout the whole of Italy and all the
adjacent islands. This point is now firmly established, and
not only Sergi, but several other leading Italian authorities
hold that the early inhabitants of the peninsula and islands
were Ligurians and Pelasgians, whom they look upon as of
the same stock, all of whom came from North Africa, and
that, despite subsequent invasions and crossings, this Mediter-
ranean stock still persists, especially in the southern provinces
and in the islands — Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Hence it
seems more reasonable to bring this aboriginal element straight
from Africa by the stepping stones of Pantellaria, Malta, and
Gozzo (formerly more extensive than at present, and still strewn
with megalithic remains comparable to those of both continents),
than by the roundabout route of Iberia and Southern Gaul'.
This is a simple solution of the problem, but it is a question
if it is justifiable to extend the name Ligurian to all that branch
of the Mediterranean race which undoubtedly forms the sub-
stratum of population in Italy and parts of Gaul, ignoring the
presence or absence of "Ligurian" culture or traces of Ligurian
language. D^chelette^ relying chiefly upon archaeological
and cultural evidence, sums up as follows : we must consider
the Ligurians as Indo-European tribes, whose area of domi-
nation had its centre, during the Bronze Age, in North Italy,
and the left bank of the Rhone. They were enterprising and
energetic in agriculture and in commerce. Together with
neighbouring peoples of Illyrian stock they engaged in an
indirect but nevertheless regular trade with the northern
regions where amber was collected. Among the Ligurians,
as among the Illyrians and Hyperboreans, a form of heliolatry
was prevalent, popularising the old solar myths in which the
' Yet Ligurians are actually planted on the North Atlantic coast of Spain by
S. Sempere y Miguel {Revista de Ciencias Historicas, I. v. 1887).
^ Manuel d'ArcMologie prihistorique, II. 1910, p. 22.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 459
swan appears to have played an important r6le. Rice Holmes'
defines more closely their geographical range. " Ligurians
undoubtedly lived in South-eastern Gaul, where they were
found at least as far north as Bellegarde in the department of
the Ain ; and, mingled more or less with Iberians, in the
departments of the Gard, Hdrault, Aude and Pyr^n^es-
Orientales. Most probably they had once occupied the whole
eastern region as far north as the Marne, but had been
submerged by Celts : and perhaps they had also pushed
westward as far as Aquitania." He continues, "Were it
possible to regard the theory of MM. d'Arbois de Jubainville
and Jullian as more than an interesting hypothesis, we should
have to conclude that the Ligurians were simply the long-
headed and short-headed peoples who, reinforced perhaps
from time to time by hordes of immigrants, had inhabited the
whole of Gaul since the Neolithic Age, and of whom the
former, or many of them, were descended from palaeolithic
hunters ; in other words' that they were the same people who,
after they had been conquered by, or had coalesced with, the
Celtic invaders, called themselves Celiac : but to say which of
them were first known as Ligurians or introduced the Ligurian
language would be utterly hopeless. Finally the little evidence
we possess tends to show that the people called Ligurians,
when they became known to the Greek writers who described
them, were a medley of different races."
For Sicily, with which may practically be included the
south of Italy, we have the conclusions of G. Patroni based
on years of intelligent and patient labours". To
Africa this archaeologist traces the palaeolithic _!sicanis£uU.
men of the west coast of Sicily and of the caves
near Syracuse explored by Von Adrian^ '' We are forced to
conclude that man arrived in Sicily from Africa at a time
when the isthmus connecting the island with that Continent
still stood above sea-level. He made his appearance about
the same time as the elephant, whose remains are associated
with human bones especially in the west. He followed the
sea coasts, the shells of which offered him sufficient food\"
He was followed by the neolithic man, whose presence has
1 Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, p. 287.
2 " La Civilisation Primitive dans la Sicilie Orientale," in L^ Anthropologies 1897,
p. 130 sq. ; and p. 295 sq.
3 Prcehistorische Studien aus Sicilien, quoted by Patroni. * p. 130.
46o Man : Past and Present [ch.
been revealed by the researches of Paolo Orsi at the station
of Stentinello on the coast north of Syracuse.
To Orsi is also due the discovery of what he calls the
" Aeneolithic Epoch S" represented by the bronzes of the Girgenti
district. Orsi assigns this culture to the Siculi, and divides it
into three periods, while regarding the neolithic men of Stenti-
nello as pre-Siculi. But Patroni holds that the aeneolithic
peoples have a right to the historic name of Sicani, and that
the true Siculi were those that arrived from Italy in Orsi's
second period. It seems no longer possible to determine the
true relations of these two peoples, who stand out as distinct
throughout early historic times. They are- by many^ regarded
as of one race, although both (Si/cai/os, ;Si/ce\os) are already
mentioned in the Odyssey. But the evidence tends to show
that the Sicani represent the oldest element which came direct
from Africa in the Stone Age, while the Siculi were a branch
of the Ligurians driven in the Metal Age from Italy to the
island, which was already occupied by the Sicani, as related
by Dionysius Halicarnassus^ In fact this migration of the
Siculi may be regarded as almost an historical event, which
according to Thucydides took place " about 300 years before
the Hellenes came to Sicily^" The Siculi bore this national
name on the mainland, so that the modern expression " King-
dom of |he Two Sicilies" (the late Kingdom of Naples) has
its justification in the earliest traditions of the people. Later,
both races were merged in one, and the present Sicilian nation
was gradually constituted by further accessions of Phoenician
(Carthaginian), Greek, Roman, Vandal, Arab, Norman, French
and Spanish elements.
Very remarkable is the contrast presented by the conditions
prevailing in this ethnical microcosm and those of Sardinia,
inhabited since the Stone Ages by one of the most homogeneous
groups in the world. From the statistics embodied in R. Livi's
' See p. 21.
^ It may be mentioned that while Penka makes the Siculi Illyrians from Upper
Italy ("Zur Palaoethnologie Mittel- u. Siideuropas," in Wiener Anthrop. Ges. 1897,
p. 18), E. A. Freeman holds that they were not only Aryans, but eloselyakin to the
Romans, speaking "an undeveloped Latin," or "something which did not differ
more widely from Latin than one dialect of Greek differed from another" {The
History of Sicily, etc., I. p. 488). On the Siculi and Sicani, see E. Meyer, Geschichte
des Alteriums, 1909, i. 2, p. 723, also Art. "Sicily, History," Ency. Brit. 191 1.
Ddchelette {Manuel cPArchSologieprdhistorique, II. 1910, p. 17) suggests that Sikelos
or Siculus, the eponymous hero of Sicily, may have been merely the personification
of the typical Ligurian implement, the bronze sickle (Lat. secula, sicula).
^ I. 22. * VI. 2.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 461
Antropologia Militare^ the Sards would almost seem to be
cast all in one mould, the great bulk of the
natives having the shortest stature, the brownest lorsfcan^
eyes and hair, the longest heads, the swarthiest
complexion of all the Italian populations. " They con-
sequently form quite a distinct variety amongst the Italian
races, which is natural enough when we remember the seclusion
in which this island has remained for so many ages^" They
seem to have been preserved as if in some natural museum to
show us what the Ligurian branch of the Mediterranean stock
may have been in- neolithic times. Yet they were probably
preceded by the microcephalous dwarfish race described by
Sergi as one of the early Mediterranean stocks. Their pre-r
sence in Sardinia has now been determined by A. Niceforo
and E. A. Onnis, who find that of about 130 skulls from old
graves thirty have a capacity of only 1150C.C. or under, while
several living persons range in height from 4ft. 2 in. to 4ft. 1 1 in.
Niceforo agrees with Sergi in bringing this dwarfish race also
from North Africa '.
With remarkable cranial uniformity, similar phenomena
are presented by the Corsicans who show ,"the same exag-
gerated length of face and narrowness of the forehead. The
cephalic index drops from 87 and above in the Alps to about
75 all along the line. Coincidently the colour of hair and eyes
becomes very dark, almost black. The figure is less amply
proportioned, the people become light and rather agile. It is
certain that the stature at the same time falls to an exceedingly
low level : fully 9 inches below the average for Teutonic
Europe," although " the people of Northern Africa, pure
Mediterranean Europeans, are of medium size*."
In the Italian peninsula Sergi holds not only that the
aborigines were exclusively of Ligurian, i.e. Mediterranean
stock, but that this stock still persists in the whole of the
region south of the Tiber, although here and there mixed with
"Aryan" elements. North of that river these elements in-
crease gradually up to the Italian Alps, and at present are
dominant in the valley of the Po^ In this way he would
' Parte I. Dati Antropologici ed Etnologici, Rome, 1896.
2 p. 182. 3 Atti Soc. Rom. d' Antrop. 1896, pp. 179 and 201.
' Cf. W. Z. Ripley, "Racial Geography of Europe," Pop. Set. Monthly, New
York, 1897-9, and The Races of Europe, 1900, pp. 54, 175.
* Arii e Italici, p. 188. Hence for these Italian Ligurians he claims the name
of "Italici," which he refuses to extend to the Aryan intruders in the peninsula.
"A questi primi abitatori spetta legittimamente il nome di Italici, non apopolazioni
462 Man : Past and Present [ch.
explain the rising percentage of round-heads in that direction,
the Ligurians being for him, as stated, long-headed, the
" Aryans " round-headed.
Similarly Beddoe, commenting on Livi's statistics, showing
predominance of tall stature, round heads, and fair complexion
in North Italy, infers "that a type, the one we usually call the
Mediterranean, does really predominate in the south, and exists
in a state of comparative purity in Sardinia and Calabria ;
while in the north the broad-headed Alpine type is powerful,
but is almost everywhere more or less modified by, or inter-
spersed with other types — Germanic, Slavic, or of doubtful
origin — to which the variations of stature and complexion may
probably be, at least in part, attributed'."
Similar relations prevail in the Balkan peninsula, where
the Mediterranean stock is represented by the "Pelasgic''"
substratum. Invented, as has been said, for the
gians. pm-pQgg Qf confounding future ethnologists, these
Pelasgians certainly present an extremely difficult racial pro-
blem, the solution of which has hitherto resisted the combined
attacks of ancient and modern students. When Dionysius
tells us bluntly that they were Greeks', we fancy the question
is settled off-hand, until we find Herodotus describing them a
few hundred years earlier as aliens, rude in speech and usages,
distinctly not Greeks, and in his time here and there (Thrace,
Hellespont) still speaking apparently non- Hellenic dialects ^
Then Homer several centuries still earlier, with his epithet of
successive [Aryan Umbrians], che avrebbero sloggiato i primi abitanti" (p. 60). The
result is a little confusing, "Italic" being now the accepted name of the Italian
branch of the Aryan linj^uistic family, and also commonly applied to the Aryans
of this Italic speech, although the word Italia itself may have been indigenous
(Ligurian) and not introduced by the Aryans. It would perhaps be better to regard
"Italia" as a "geographical expression" applicable to' all its inhabitants, whatever
their origin or speech.
' Science Progress, July, 1894. It will be noticed that the facts, accepted by all,
are differently interpreted by Beddoe and Sergi, the latter taking the long-headed
element in North Italy as the aboriginal (Ligurian), modified by the later intrusion
of round-headed Aryan Slavs, Teutons, and especially Kelts, while Beddoe seems
to regard the broad-headed Alpine as the original, afterwards modified by intrusive
long-headed types " Germanic, Slavic, or of doubtful origin." Either view would no
doubt account for the present relations ; but Sergi's study of the prehistoric remains
(see above) seems to compel acceptance of his explanation. From the statistics an
average height of not more than 5 ft. 4 in. results for the whole of Italy.
2 For the identification of the Mediterranean race in Greece with the Pelasgians,
see W. Ridgeway, Early Age of Greece, I. 1901, though Ripley coaX.e.xi6.% {The. Races
of Europe, 1900, p. 407), "Positively no anthropological data on the matter exist."
To T^v neXao-ywi/ yivoi 'EXXi/vtKoi/.
* I. 57-
^iii] The Caucasic Peoples 463
SIoi, occurring both in the //?W and, the Odyssey"^, exalts them
almost above the level of the Greeks themselves. It would
seem, therefore, almost impossible to discover a key to the
puzzle, one which will also fit in both with Sergi's Mediter-
ranean theory, and with the results of recent archaeological
researches in the Aegean lands. The following hypothesis is
supported by a certain amount of evidence. I f the pre- M ykenaean
culture revealed by Schliemann and others in the Troad,
Mykenae, Argos, Tiryns, by Evans and others in Crete, by
Cesnola in Cyprus, be ascribed to a pre- Hellenic rather than
to a proto- Hellenic people, then the classical references will
explain themselves, while this pre-Hellenic race will be readily
identified with the Pelasgians, as this term is understood by
Sergi.
It is, I suppose, universally allowed that Greece really was
peopled before the arrival of the Hellenes, which term is here
to be taken as comprising all the invading tribes from the
north, of which the Achaeans were perhaps the earliest. On
their 'arrival the Hellenes therefore found the land not only
inhabited, but inhabited by a cultured people more civilised
than themselves, who could thus be identified with Sergi's
Pelasgian branch of the Mediterranean or Afro- European
stock, whom the proto- Hellenes naturally regarded as their
superiors, and whom their first singers also Theory of pre-
naturally called Sioi IIeXao■yot^ But in the course Hellenic Pelas-
of a few centuries' these Pelasgians became ^'*"^-
Hellenised, all but a few scattered groups, which lagging
behind in the general social progress are now also looked upon
as barbarians, speaking barbaric tongues, and are so described
by contemporary historians. Then these few remnants of a
glorious but forgotten past are also merged in the Hellenic
' //. X. 429; Od. XIX. 177.
2 " We recognize in the Pelasgi an ancient and honourable race, ante-Hellenic,
it is true, but distinguished from the Hellenes only in the political and social develop-
ment of their age.... Herodotus and others take a prejudiced view when, reasoning
back from the subsequent Tyrrhenian Pelasgi, they call the ancient Pelasgians a
rude and worthless race, their language barbarous, and their deities nameless.
Numerous traditionary accounts, of undoubted authenticity, describe them as
a brave, moral, and honourable people, which was less a distinct stock and tribe,
thanarace united by a resemblance in manners and the formsof life" ( W. Wachsmuth,
The Historical Antiquities of the Greeks, etc., Engl. ed. 1837, I., p. 39). Remarkable
words to have been written before the recent revelations of archaeology in Hellas.
^ That the two cultures went on for a long time side by side is evident from the
different social institutions and religious ideas prevailing in different parts of Hellas
during the strictly historic period.
464 Man : Past and Present [ch.
stream, and can no longer be distinguished from other Greeks
by contemporary writers. Hence for Dionysius the Pelasgians
are simply Greeks, which in a sense may be true enough.
All the heterogeneous elements have been fused in a single
Hellenic nationality, built upon a rough Pelasgic substratum,
and adorned with all the graces of Hellenic culture.
Now to make good this hypothesis, it is necessary to show,
first, that the Pelasgians were not an obscure tribe, a small
people confined to some remote corner of Hellas, but a wide-
spread nation diffused over all the land ; secondly, that this
nation, as far as can now be determined, presented mental and
other characters answering to those of Sergi's Mediterraneans,
and also such as might be looked for in a race capable of
developing the splendid Aegean culture of pre- Hellenic times.
On the first point it has been claimed that the Pelasgians
were so widely distributed^ that the difficulty rather is to
Pelasgians and discover a district where their presence was un-
Mykenaean known. They fill the background of Hellenic
civilisation. origins, and even spread beyond the Hellenic
horizon, to such an extent that there seems little room for any
other people between the Adriatic and the Hellespont. Thus
Ridgeway^ has brought together a good many passages which
clearly establish their universal range, as well as their occupa-
tion especially of those places where have been found objects
of Mykenaean and pre-Mykenaean culture, such as engraved
gems, pottery, implements, buildings, inscriptions in picto-
graphic and syllabic scripts. In Crete they had the "great
city of Knossos" in Homer*s time^ not only was Mykenae
theirs, but the whole of Peloponnesus took the name of
Pelasgia ; the kings of Tiryns were Pelasgians, and Aeschylus
calls Argos a Pelasgian city ; an old wall at Athens was
attributed to them, and the people of Attica had from all time
been Pelasgians*. Orchomenus in Boeotia was founded by a
colony from Pelasgiotis in Thessaly ; Lesbos also was called
Pelasgia, and Homer knew of Pelasgians in the Troad. Their
settlements are further traced to Egypt, to Rhodes, Cyprus,
Epirus — where Dodona was their ancient shrine — and lastly
to various parts of Italy.
' Kara rfjv 'EXXdfia JTa<rav inenoKaae (Strabo, V. 22o). This might almost be
translated, " they flooded the whole of Greece."
^ Early Age of Greece, igoi, Chaps. I. and ir.
5 Od. XIX. 4 Thuc. I. 3.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 465
Moreover, the Pelasgians were traditionally the civilising
element, who taught people to make bread, to yoke the ox to
the plough, and to measure land. It would ap-
pear from these and other allusions that there cuWure.
were memories of still earlier aborigines, amongst
whom the Pelasgians appear as a cultured people, introducing
perhaps the arts and industries of the pre-Mykenaean Age.
But the assumption, based on no known data, is unnecessary,
and it seems more reasonable to look on this culture as locally
developed, to some extent under eastern (Egyptian, Babylonian,
Hittite?) influences'. Here it is important to note that the
Pelasgians were credited with a knowledge of letters'', and all
this has been advanced as sufficient confirmation of our second
postulate. Nevertheless it must be acknowledged that the
difficulties are not all overcome by this hypothesis, and the
further question of language divides even its stanchest sup-
porters into opposing groups, for while Sergi's Mediterraneans
necessarily speak a non- Indo-European language'. Ridge way's
Pelasgians speak Aeolic Greek*.
The range and importance of the Pelasgians are most
strictly limited by J. L. Myres", who thinks that the Alpine
type may even be primitive in the Morea, Medi-
terranean man being an intruder from the south
merely fringing the coast and never penetrating inland. The
researches of von Luschan in Lycia support this view", and
Ripley's map of the present inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula
shows the " Greek contingent closely confined to the sea-
coast'." Ripley, however, though carefully avoiding any
1 This idea of an independent evolution of western (European) culture is steadily
gaining ground, and is strenuously advocated, amongst others, by M. Salomon
Reinach, who has made a vigorous attack on what he calls the "oriental mirage,"
i.e. the delusion which sees nothing but Asiatic or Egyptian influences everywhere.
Sergi of course goes further, regarding the Mediterranean (Iberian, Ligurian,
Pelasgian) cultures not only as local growths, but as independent both of Asiatics
and of the rude Aryan hordes, who came rather as destroyers than civilisers. This
is one of the fundamental ideas pervading the whole of his Arii e Italici, and some
earlier writings. ^ Pausanias, in. 20. 5.
^ G. Sergi, The Mediterranean Race, 1901. In the main he is supported by
philologists. "The languages of the indigenous peoples throughout Asia Minor
and the Aegean area are commonly believed to have been ngm-Indo-European."
H. M. Chad wick. The Heroic Age, 1912, p. 179 «.
* W. Ridgeway, The Early Age of Greece, igoi, p. 681 ff.
6 The Dawn of History, 191 1, p. 40. For his views on Pelasgians, %et.Joum.
Hell. St. 1907, p. 170, and the Art. " Pelasgians" in Ency. Brit. igil.
* E. Petersen and F. von Luschan, Reisen in Lykien, 1889.
' W. Z. Ripley^ The Races of Europe, p, 404 ff. The map (facing p. 402) does
not include Greece, and the grouping is based on language, not race.
K. 30
466 Man : Past and Present [ch.
dragging of " Pelasgians " into the question, assumes a primitive
substratum of Mediterranean type all over Greece. " The
testimony of these ancient Greek crania is perfectly harmonious.
All authorities agree that the ancient Hellenes were decidedly
long-headed, betraying in this respect their affinity to the
Mediterranean Race. . . .Whether from Attica, from Schliemann's
successive cities excavated upon the site of Troy, or from the
coast of Asia Minor^; at all times from 400 B.C. to the third
century of our era, it would seem proved that the Greeks were
of this dolichocephalic type. ... Every characteristic of their
modern descendants and every analogy with the neighbouring
populations, leads us to the conclusion that the classical
Hellenes were distinctly of the Mediterranean racial type,
little different from the Phoenicians, the Romans or the
Iberians^" Nevertheless Dofpfeld' claims that there were,
from the first, two races in Greece, a Southern, or Aegean,
and a Northern, who were the Aryan Achaeans of history,
and recent archaeological discoveries certainly support this
view.
Another attempt to solve the Pelasgian problem is that of
E. Meyer*. After enumerating the various areas said to have
been occupied by the Pelasgians " ein grosses Urvolk " who
ranged from Asia Minor to Italy, he pricks the bubble by
saying that in reality there were no Pelasgians save in Thessaly,
in the fruitful plain of Peneus, hence called " Pelasgic Argos^"
and later Pelasgiotis. They, like the Dorians, invaded Crete
from Thessaly and at the beginning of the first millennium
were defeated and enslaved by the incoming Thessalians.
These are the only true Pelasgians. The other so-called
Pelasgians are the descendants of an eponymous Pelasgos
who in genealogical poetry becomes the ancestor of mankind.
Since the Arcadians were regarded as the earliest of the
indigenous peoples, Pelasgos was made the ancestor of the
Arcadians. The name " Pelasgic Argos " was transferred
' The Mykenaean skull found by Bent at Antiparos is described as "abnormally
dolichocephalic." W. Ridgeway, Early Age of Greece, I. 1901, p. 78.
^ But in Ridgeway's view the " classical Hellenes " were descendants of tall
fair-haired invaders from the North, and in this he has the concurrence of J. L.
My res, The Dawn of History, 191 1, p. 209.
3 Mitt. d. K. d. Inst. Athen. xxx. See H. R. Hall, Ancient History of the Near
East, 1 91 3, pp. 61-4.
* Geschichte des Altertums, I. 2, 1909, § 507.
' For a discussion of the meaning of "Pelasgic Argos" see H. M. Chadwick,
The Heroic Age, 1912, pp. 274 if. and 278-9, and for his criticism of Meyer, p. 285.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 467
from Thessaly to the Peloponnesian city. Attic Pelasgians
were derived from a mistake of Hecataeus'. So the legend
grew. The only real Pelasgian problem, concludes Meyer, is
whether the Thessalian Pelasgians were a Greek or pre-Greek
people, and he is inclined to favour the latter view. The
identity of " the most mysterious people of antiquity " is
further obscured by philology, for, as P. Giles points out,
their name appears merely to mean " the people of the sea,"
so that "they do not seem to be in all cases the same stock"."
Whether we call them Pelasgians or no, there would seem
to be little doubt that the splendours of Aegean civilisation
which have been and still are being gradually revealed by the
researches of British, Italian, American and German archaeo-
logists are to be attributed to an indigenous people of Medi-
terranean type, occupying an area of which Crete was the
centre, from the Stone Age, right through the Bronze Age,
down to the Northern invasions of the second millennium and
the introduction of iron. In range this culture included Greece
with its islands, Cyprus, and Western Anatolia, and its influence
extended westwards to Sicily, Italy, Sardinia and Spain, and
eastwards to Syria and Egypt. Its chief characteristics are
(i) an indigenous script both pictographic and linear, with
possible affinities in Hittite, Cypriote and South-west Ana-
tolian scripts, but hitherto indecipherable ; (2) a characteristic
art attempting "to express an ideal in forms more and more
closely approaching to realities^" exhibited in frescoes, pottery,
reliefs, sculptures, jewelry etc. ; (3) a distinctive architectural
style, and (4) type of tomb, which have no parallels elsewhere.
Excavations at Cnossos go far towards establishing a chrono-
logy for the Aegean area. At the base is an immensely
thick neolithic deposit, above which come pottery and other
objects of Minoan Period I. i, which are correlated by Petrie
with objects found at Abydos, referred by him to the ist
Dynasty (400QB.C.). Minoan Period II. 2 corresponds with
the Egyptian XII Dynasty (2500 B.C.), characteristic Cretan
pottery of this period being found in the Fayum. Minoan
' But see W. Ridgeway, Early Age of Greece, I. 1901, p. 138 flf.
2 Art. "Indo-European Languages," Ency. Brit. 191 1.
3 R. S. Conway, Art. "Aegean Civilisation," in Ency. Brit. 191 1, whence this
summary is derived, including the chronology, which is not in all respects
universally adopted (see p. 27). For a full discussion of the chronology see
J. D6chelette, Manuel d^ Archdqlogie prdhistorique. Vol. 11. 1910, Archiologie celtigue
ou protohistofique, Ch. 11. §y. Chronologie 6g3enne, p. 54 ff.
30—2
468 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Period III. i and 2 synchronises with Dynasty XVIII (1600
to 1400 B.C.). Iron begins to be used for weapons after
Period III. 3, and is commonly attributed to incursions from
the north, the Dorian invasion of the Greek authors, about
1000 B.C. which led to the destruction of the palace of Cnossos
and the substitution of " Geometric " for " Mykehaean " art.
Turning to the African branch of the Mediterranean type,
we find it forming not merely the substratum, but the great
Range of the ^ulk of the inhabitants throughout all recorded
Haniites in time from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, and from
Africa. ^.jjg Mediterranean to. Sudan, although since
Muhammadan times largely intermingled with the kindred
Semitic stock (mainly Arabs) in the north and west, and in
the east (Abyssinia) with the same stock since prehistoric
times. All are comprised by Sergi/ in two main divisions: —
1. Eastern Hamites, answering to the Ethiopic Branch
of some writers, of somewhat variable type, comprising the
Old and Modern Egyptians now mixed with Semitic (Arab)
elements ; the Nubians, t!!\& Bejas, the Abyssinians, collective
name of all the peoples between Khor Barka and Shoa (with,
in some places, a considerable infusion of Himyaritic or early
Semitic blood from South Arabia) ; the Gallas (Gallas proper,
Somals, and Afars or Dandkils); the Masai and Ba-Hima.
2. Northern Hamites, the Libyan Race or Berber
( Western) Branch of some writers, "comprising the Mediter-
ranean Berbers of Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli ; the Atlantic
Berbers {Shluhs and others) of Morocco ; the West Sakaran
Berbers commonly called Tuaregs ; the Tibus of the East
Sahara ; the Fulahs, dispersed amongst the Sudanese Ne-
groes ; the Guanches of the Canary I slands.
Of the Eastern Hamites he remarks generally that they
do not form a homogeneous division, but rather a number of
different peoples either crowded together in separate areas,
or dispersed in the territories of other peoples. They agree
' In his valuable and comprehensive work, Africa: Antrppologia della Stirpe
Camitica, Turin, 1897. It must not be supposed that this classification is un-
challenged. T. A. Joyce, "Hamitic Races and Languages," Ency. Brit. 191 1,
points out that it is impossible to prove the connection between the Eastern and
Northern Hamites. The former have a brown skin, with frizzy hair, and are
nomadic or semi-nomadic pastors ; the lattef, whom he would call not Hamites at
all, but the Libyan variety of the Mediterranean race, are a white people, with
curly hair, and their purest rept-esentatives, the Berbers, are agriculturalists. For
the fullest and most recent treatment of the subject see the monumental work of
Oric Bates, Tke Eastern Libyans: An Essay, 191 3, with bibliography.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 469
more in their inner than in their outer characters, without
constituting a single ethnical type. The cranial
forms are variable, though converging, and evi- JamUes.*^™
dently to be regarded as very old varieties of
an original stock. The features are also variable, converging
and characteristic, with straight or arched (aquiloid) nose
quite different from the Negro ; lips rather thick, but never
everted as in the Negro ; hair usually frizzled, not wavy ;
beard thin ; skin very variable, brown, red-brown, black-
brown, ruddy black, chocolate and coffee-brown, reddish or
yellowish, these variations being due to crossings and the
outward physical conditions.
In this assumption Sergi is supported by the analogous
case of the western Berbers between the Senegal and Mo-
rocco, to whom Collignon and Deniker' restrict
the term "Moor," as an ethnical name. The Tmo^"*^™
chief groups, which range from the Atlantic
coast east to the camping grounds of the true TuaregsS are
the Trarsas and Braknas of the Senegal river, and farther
north the Dwaish (Idoesh), Uled-Bella, Uled-Embark, and
Uled-en-Nasdr. From a study of four of these Moors, who
visited Paris in 1 895, it appears that they are not an Arabo-
Berber cross, as commonly supposed, but true Hamites, with
a distinct Negro strain, shown especially in their frizzly hair,
bronze colour, short broad nose, and thickish lips, their general
appearance showing an astonishing likeness to the Bejas,
Afars, Somals, Abyssinians, and other Eastern Hamites.
This is not due to direct descent, and it is more reasonable
to suppose " that at the two extremities of the continent the
same causes have produced the same effects, and that from
the infusion of a certain proportion of black blood in the
Egyptian [eastern] and Berber branches of the Hamites,
there have sprung closely analogous mixed groups'." From
the true Negro they are also distinguished by their grave and'
dignified bearing, and still more by their far greater intelli-
gence.
Both divisions of the Hamites, continues Sergi, agree
substantially in their bony structure, and thus form a single
1 " Le's Maures du S^n^gal," L' Anlhropologie, 1896, p. 258 sq.
2 That is, the Sanhaja-an LUham, those who wear the litham or veil, which is
needed to protect them from the sand, but has now acquired religio'us significance,
and is never worn by the " Moors."
^ p. 269.
470 Man : Past and Present [ch.
anthropological group with variable skull — pentagonoid,
ovoid, ellipsoid, sphenoid, etc., as expressed in
HamiticT e ^^^ terminology — but constant, that is, each
variety recurring in all the branches ; face also
variable (tetragonal, ellipsoid, etc.), but similarly identical in
all the branches; profile non-prognathous ; eyes dark, straight,
not prominent; nose straight or arched ; hair smooth, curly,
long, black or chestnut; beard, full, also scant; lips thin or
slightly tumid, never protruding ; skin of various brown shades ;
stature medium or tall.
Such is the great anthropological division, which was
diffused continuously over the greater part of Africa, and
round the northern shores of the Mediterranean. According
to Stuhlmann^ it had its origin in South Arabia, if not further
east, and entered Africa in the region of Erythrea. He re-
gards the Red Sea as offering no obstacle to migrations, but
suggests a possible land connection between the opposite
shores.
Nothing is more astonishing than the strange persistence
not merely of the Berber type, but of the Berber temperament
and nationality since the Stone Ages, despite the successive
invasions of foreign peoples during the historic period. First
came the Sidonian Phoenicians, founders of Carthage and Utica
probably about 1 500 B.C. The Greek occupation of Cyrenaica
(628 B.C.) was followed by the advent of the Romans on the
Foreign ruins of the Carthaginian empire. The Romans
Elements in have certainly left distinct traces of their presence,
Mauretania. ^^^ some of the Aures highlanders still proudly
call themselves Rumaniya. These Skawias (" Pastors") form
a numerous group, all claiming Roman descent, and even still
keeping certain Roman and Christian feasts, such as Bu Ini,
i.e. Christmas ; Innar ox January (New Year's Day) ; Spring
(Easter), etc. A few Latin words also survive such as urtho
= hortus ; kerrUsh — quercus (evergreen oak) ; milli = milliarium
(milestone).
After the temporary Vandal occupation came the great Arab
invasions of the seventh and later centuries, and even these
had been preceded by the kindred Ruadites, who had in pre-
Moslem times already reached Mauretania from Arabia. With
' See F. Stuhlmann's invaluable work on African culture and race distribution,
Handwerk und Industrie in Ostafrika, 1910, especially the map showing the
distribution of the Hamites, PI. n. B.
xiiij The Caucasic Peoples 471
the Jews, some of whom had also reached Tripolitana before
the New Era, a steady infiltration of Negroes from Sudan,
and the recent French, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese settlers,
we have all the elements that go to make up the cosmopolitan
population of Mauretania.
But amid them all the Berbers and the Arabs stand out as
the immensely predominant factors, still distinct despite a
probably common origin in the far distant past Arab and
and later interminglings. The Arab remains Berber Con-
above all a nomad herdsman, dwelling in tents, *^*^*^-
without house or hamlet, a good stock-breeder, but a bad
husbandman, and that only on compulsion. " The ploughshare
and shame enter hand in hand into the family," says the
national proverb. To find space for his flocks and herds he
continues the destructive work of Carthaginian and Roman,
who ages ago cleared vast wooded tracts for their fleets and
commercial navies, and thus rendered large areas barren and
desolate.
The Berber on the contrary loves the sheltering wood-
lands ; he is essentially a highlander who carefully tills the
forest glades, settles in permanent homes, and often develops
flourishing industries. Arab society is feudal and theocratic,
ruled by a despotic Sheikh, while the Berber with his Jemaa, or
" Witenagemot," and his Kanun or unwritten code, feels him-
self a freeman ; and it may well have been this democratic
spirit, inherited by his European descendants, that enabled the
western nations to take the lead in the onward movement of
humanity. The Arab again is a fanatic, ever to be feared,
because he blindly obeys the will of Allah proclaimed by his
prophets, marabouts, and mahdis\ But the Berber, a born
sceptic, looks askance at theological dogmas ; an unconscious
philosopher, he is far less of a fatalist than his Semitic neigh-
bour, who associates with Allah countless demons and jins in
the government of the world.
In their physical characters the two races also present some
striking contrasts, the Arab having the regular oval brain-cap
and face of the true Semite, whereas the Berber head is more
angular, less finely moulded, with more prominent cheek-
bones, shorter and less aquiline nose, which combined with a
' The Kababish and Baggara tribes, chief mainstays of former Sudanese revohs,
claim to be of unsullied Arab descent with long fictitious pedigrees going back to
early Muhammadan times (see p. 74).
472 Man : Past and Present • [ch.
slight degree of sub-nasal prognathism, imparts to the features
coarser and less harmonious outlines. He is at the same time
distinctly taller and more muscular, with less uniformity in the
colour of the eye and the hair, as might be expected from the
numerous elements entering into the constitution of present
Berber populations.
In the social conflict between the Arab and Berber races,
the curious spectacle is presented of two nearly equal elements
(same origin, same religion, same government, same or
analogous tribal groupings, at about the same cultural develop?
ment) refusing to amalgamate to any great extent, although
living in the closest proximity for over a thousand years. In
this struggle the Arab seems so far to have had the advantage.
Instances of Berberised Arabs occur, but are extremely rare,
whereas the Berbers have not only everywhere accepted the
Koran, but whole tribes have become assimilated in speech,
costume, and usages to the Semitic intruders. It might there-
fore seem as if the Arab must ultimately prevail. But we are
assured by the French observers that in Algeria and Tunisia
appearances are fallacious, however the case may stand in
Morocco and the Sahara. " The Arab," writes Malbot, to
whom I am indebted for some of thfese details, "an alien in
Mauretania, transported to a soil which does, not always suit
him, so far from thriving tends to disappear, whereas the Berber,
especially under the shield of France, becomes more and more
aggressive, and yearly increases in numbers. At present he
forms at least three-fifths of the population in Algeria, and in
Morocco the proportion is greater. He is the race of the
future as of the past^"
This however would seem to apply only to the races, not
to their languages, for we are elsewhere told that Arabic is
encroaching steadily on the somewhat ruder Berber dialects I
Considering the enormous space over which they are diffused,
and the thousands of years that some of the groups have ceased
to be in contact, these dialects show remarkably slight diverg-
ence from the long extinct speech from which all have sprung.
Whatever it be called — Kabyle, Zenatia, Shawia, Tamashek,
Shluh — the Berber language is still essentially one, and the
likeness between the forms current in Morocco, Algeria, the
Sahara, and the remote Siwah Oasis on the confines of Egypt,
1 "
2 p. 17
Les Chaouias," L Anthropologie, 1897, p. 14.
^iii] The Caucasic Peoples 473
is much closer, for instance, than between Norse and English
in the sub-Aryan Teutonic group\
But when we cross the conventional frontier between the
contiguous Tuareg and Tibu domains in the central Sahara the
divergence is so great that philologists are still
doubtful whether the two languages are even ' "^'
remotely or are at all connected. Ever since the abandonment
of the generalisation of Lepsius that Hamitic and Negro were
the sole stock languages, the complexity of African linguistic
problems has been growing more and more apparent, and Tibu
is only one among many puzzles, concerning which there is
great discordance of opinion even among the most recent and
competent authorities I
The Tibu themselves, apparently direct descendants of the
ancient Garamantes, have their primeval home in the Tibesti
range, i.e. the "Rocky Mountains," whence they take their
name'. There are two distinct sections, the Northern Tedas,
a name recalling the Tedamansii, a branch of the Garamantes
located by Ptolemy somewhere between Tripolitana and Pha-
zania (Fezzan), and the Southern Dazas, through whom the
Tibu merge gradually in the negroid populations of central
Sudan. This intermingling with the blacks dates from remote
time's, whence Ptolemy's remark that the Garamantes seemed
rather more "Ethiopians" than Libyans*. But there can be
no doubt that the full-blood Tibu, as represented by the
northern section, are mainly Mediterranean, and although the
type of the men is somewhat coarser than that of their Tuareg
neighbours, that of the women is almost the finest in Africa.
"Their women are charming while still in the bloom of youth,
unrivalled amongst their sisters of North Africa for their
physical beauty, pliant and graceful figures \"
' The words collected by Sir H. H. Johnston at Dwirat in Tunis show a great
resemblance with the language of the Saharan Tuaregs, and the sheikh of that
place " admitted that his people could understand and make themselves understood
by those fierce nomads, who range between the southern frontier of Algeria and
Tunis and the Sudan" {Geogr. /our., June, 1898, p. 590).
2 Cf Meinhof, Die Moderne Sprachforschung in Africa, 1910.
' 7y-(5« = "Rock People"; cf A'a««»2-te="Kanem People," southernmost
branch of the family on north side of Lake Chad.
* "OvTotv 8e KoX airav ^br) /jiaWov AWwirav (l. 8). I take ^Sr), which has caused
some trouble to commentators, here to mean that, as you advance southwards from
the Mediterranean seaboard, you find yourself on entering Garamantian territory
already rather amongst Ethiopians than Libyans.
' Reclus, Eng. ed. Vol. xi. p. 429. For the complicated ancestral mixture pro-
ducing the Tibu see Sir H. H. Johnston; " A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa,"
Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLHI. 1913, p. 386.
474 Man : Past and Present [ch.
It is interesting to notice amongst these somewhat secluded
Saharan nomads the glow growth of culture, and the curious
survival of usages which have their explanation in primitive
social conditions. "The Tibu is always distrustful; hence,
meeting a fellow-countryman in the desert he is careful not to
draw near without due precaution. At sight of each other
both generally stop suddenly ; then crouching and throwing the
litham over the lower part of the face in Tuareg fashion, they
grasp the inseparable spear in their right and the shanger-
mangor, or bill-hook, in their left. After these preliminaries
they begin to interchange compliments, inquiring after each-
other's health and family connections, receiving every answer
with expressions of thanksgiving to Allah. These formalities
usually last some minutes'." Obviously all this means nothing
more than a doffing of the hat or a shake-hands amongst more
advanced peoples ; but it points to times when every stranger
was a hostis, who later became the hospes (host, guest).
It will be noticed that the Tibu domain, with the now.
absolutely impassable Libyan desert^ almost completely separ-
ates the Mediterranean branch from the Hamites
HamitM^ ^° proper. Continuity, however, is accorded, both
on the north along the shores of the Mediterranean
to the Nile Delta (Lower Egypt), and on the south thr6ugh
Darfur and Kordofan to the White Nile, and thence down
the main stream to Upper Egypt, and through Abyssinia,
Galla and Somali lands to the Indian Ocean. Between the
Nile and the east coast the domain of the Hamites stretches
from the equator northwards to Egypt and the Mediterranean.
It appears therefore that Egypt, occupied for many thou-
sands of years by an admittedly Hamitic people, might have
been reached either from the west by the Mediterranean route,
or down the Nile, or, lastly, it maybe suggested that the Hamites
were specialised in the Nile valley itself The point is not
easy to decide, because, when appeal is made to the evidence
of the Stone Ages, we find nothing to choose between such
widely separated regions as Somaliland, Upper Egypt, and
Mauretania, all of which have yielded superabundant proofs
of the presence of man for incalculable ages, estimated by
' Reclus, Eng. ed. Vol. xi. p. 430.
^ From the enormous sheets of tuffs near the Kharga Oasis Zettel, geologist of
G. Rohlf's expedition in 1876, considered- that even this sandy waste might have
supported a rich vegetation in Quaternary times.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 475
some palethnologists at several hundred thousand years. In
Egypt the palaeoliths indicate not only extreme antiquity, but
also that the course of civilisation was uninterrupted by any
such crises as have afforded means of chronological classification
in Western Europe. The differences in technique are local
and geographical, not historic. The Neolithic period tells the
same "tale, and the use of copper at the beginning of the historic
period only slowly replaced the flint industry, which continued
during the earlier dynasties down to the period of the Middle
Empire and attained a degree of perfection nowhere surpassed.
Prehistoric pottery strengthens the evidence of a slow, gradual
development, the newer forms nowhere jostling out the old,
but co-existing side by side'.
It might seem therefore that the question of Egyptian
origins was settled by the mere statement of the case, and
that there could be no hesitation in saying that . .
the Egyptian Hamites were evolved on Egyptian "&>ns.
soil, consequently are the true autochthones in the N ile valley.
Yet there is no ethnological question more hotly discussed than
this of Egyptian origins and culture, for the two seem insepar-
able. There are broadly speaking two schools : the African,
whose fundamental views are thus briefly set forth, and the
Asiatic, which brings the Egyptians with all their works from
the neighbouring continent. But, seeing that the Egyptians are
now admitted to be Hamites, that there are no Hamites to
speak of (let it be frankly said, none at all) in Asia, and that
they have for untold ages occupied large tracts of Africa, there
are several members of the Asiatic school who allow that, not
the people themselves, but their culture only came from western
Asia (Mesopotamia). If so, this culture would presumably
have its roots in the delta, which is first reached by the Isthmus
of Suez from Asia, and spread thence, say, from Memphis
up the Nile to Thebes and Upper Egypt, and here arises a
difficulty. For at that time there was no delta", or at least it
* See Histoire de la Civilisation Egyptienne, G. Jdquier, 1913, p. 53 ff. Also,
concerning pottei-y, E. Naville, "The Origin of Egyptian Civilisation," /isiar^. Roy^
Anthr. Inst, xxxvii. igo7, p. 203.
2 The Egyptians themselves had a tradition that when Menes moved north he
found the delta still under water. The sea reached almost as far as the Fayum,
and the whole valley, except the Thebais, was a malarious swamp (Herod. 11. 4).
Thus late into historic times memories still survived that the delta was of relatively
recent formation, and that the Retu {Romitu of the Pyramid texts, later Rotu,
Rami, etc.) had already developed their social system before the Lower Nile valley
was inhabitable. Hence whether the Nile took 20,000 years (Schweinfurth) or over
70,000, as others hold, to fill in its estuary, the beginning of the Egyptian prehistoric
47^ Man : Past and Present [ch.
was only in process of formation, a kind of debatable region
between land and water, inhabitable mainly by crocodiles, and
utterly unsuited to become the seat of a culture whose character-
istic features are huge stone monuments, amongst the largest
ever erected by man, and consequently needing solid founda-
tions on terra firma. It further appears that although
Memphis is very old, Thebes is much older, in other words,
that Egyptian culture began in Upper Egypt, and spread not
up but down the Nile. On the other hand the Egyptians
themselves looked upon the delta as the cradle of their civili-
sation, although no traces of material culture have survived,
or could be expected to survive, in such a soil\ Moreover it
is not necessary to introduce Asiatic invaders by way of Lower
Egypt. F. Stuhlmann postulates a land connection between
Africa and Arabia, but even without this assumption he regards
the Red Sea as affording no hindrance to early infiltrations^
Flinders Petrie, while rejecting any considerable water trans-
port for the uncultured prehistoric Egyptians (whom he derives
from Libya), detects a succession of subsequent invasions from
Asia, the dynastic race crossing the Red Sea to the neighbour-
hood of Koptos, and Syrian invasions leading to the civilisation
of the Twelfth Dynasty, besides the later Hyksos invasions
of Semito- Babylonian stock'.
The theory of Asiatic origins is clearly siimmed up by
H. H. Johnston^ He regards the earliest inhabitants of Egypt
as a dwarfish Negro-like race, not unlike the
Eilti? Origins. Congo pygmies of to-day (p. 375), with possibly
some trace of Bushman (p. 378), but this popu-
lation was displaced riiore than 15,000 years ago by Medi-
terranean man, who may have penetrated as far as Abyssinia,
and may have been linguistically parent of the Fulah^
The Fulah type was displaced by the invasions of the
Hamites and the Libyans or Berbers. "The Hamites were
period must still be set back many millenniums before the new era. " Ce que nous
Savons du Sahara, lui-mSme alors sillonn^ de riviferes, atteste qu'il [the delta] ne
devait pas 6tre habitable, pas ^tre constitud k I'dpoque quaternaire" (M. Zaborowski,
Bui. Soc. d^Anthrop. 1896, p. 655).
' G. J6quier, Histoire de la Civilisation KgypHenne, 1913, p. 95, but see
E. Naville, " The Origin of Egyptian Civilisation,"/i3«r«. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvil.
1907, p. 209.
" Handwerk und Industrie in Ostafrika, 1910, p. 143.
^ "Migrations," /"«''»■ Anthr. Inst. XXXVI. 1906.
* "A Survey of the Ethnography of Kbica.," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLIII.
1913-
' See p. 482 below.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 477
no doubt of common origin, linguistically and racially, with the
Semites, and perhaps originated in that great breeding ground
of conquering peoples, South-west Asia. They preceded the
Semites, and (we may suppose) after a long stay and con-
centration in Mesopotamia invaded and colonised Arabia,
Southern Palestine, Egypt, Abyssinia, Somaliland and North
Affica to its Atlantic shores. The Dynastic Egyptians were
also Hamites in a sense, both linguistically and physically ; but
they seem to have attained to a high civilisation in Western
Arabia, to have crossed the Red Sea in vessels, and to have
made their first base on the Egyptian coast near Berenice in
the natural harbour formed by Ras Benas. From here a long,
broad wadi or valley — then no doubt fertile — led them to the
Nile in the Thebaid, the first seat of their kingly power'. The
ancestors of the Dynastic Egyptians may have originated the
great dams and irrigation works in Western Arabia ; and such
long struggles with increasing drought may have first broken
them in to the arts of quarrying stone blocks and building with
stone. Over population and increasing drought may have
caused them to migrate across the Red Sea in search of another
home ; or their migration may have been partly impelled by the
Semitic hordes from the north, whom we can imagine at this
period — some 9000 to 10,000 years ago — pressing southwards
into Arabia and conquering or fusing with the preceding
Hamites; just as these latter, no doubt, at an earlier day, had
wrested Arabia from the domain of the Negroid and Dravidian "
(p. 382). -
That the founding of the First Dynasty was coincident
with a physical change in the population, is proved by the
thousands of skeletons and mummies examined
by Elliot Smith ^ who regards the Pre-dynastic Pj^°to-E87Ptian
Egyptians as "probably the nearest approxi-
mation to that anthropological abstraction, a pure race, that
we know of (p. 83). He describes the type as follows (Chap. iv.).
The Proto-Egyptian {i.e. Pre-dynastic) was a man of small
stature, his mean height, estimated at a little under 5 ft. 5 in.,
in the flesh for men, and almost 5 ft! in the case of women.
' For an alternative route see E. Naville, " The Origin of Egyptian Civilisation,"
Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvn. I907, p. 209; J. L. Mjires, The Dawn of History,
191 1, pp. 56-7, also p. 65, and the criticism of Elliot Smith, The Ancient Egyptians^
ign, pp. 88-9.
2 The Amient Egyptians, 191 1.
478 Man : Past and Present [ch.
being just about the average for mankind in general, whereas
the modern Egyptian /"^//ayl averages about 5 ft. 6 in. He was
of very slender build with indications of poor muscular develop-
ment. In fact there is a suggestion qf effeminate grace and
frailty about his bones, which is lacking in the more rugged
outlines of the skeletons of his more virile successors. The
hair of the Proto- Egyptian was precisely similar to that of the
brunet South European or Iberian people of the present day.
It was a very dark brown or black colour, wavy or almost
straight and sometimes curly, never "woolly." There can be
no doubt whatever that this dark hair was associated with dark
eyes and a bronzed complexion. Elliot Smith emphatically
endorses Sergi's identification of the ancient Egyptian as
belonging to his Mediterranean Race. "So striking is the
family likeness between the Early Neolithic peoples of the
British Isles and the Mediterranean and the bulk of the popu-
lation, both ancient and modern, of Egypt and East Africa,
that a description of the bones of an early Briton might apply
in all essential details to an inhabitant of Somaliland." But he
points out also that there is an equally close relationship linking
the Proto-Egyptians with the populations to the east, from the
Red Sea as far as India, including Semites as well as Hamites.
Rejecting the terms "Mediterranean" or " Hamite" as inade-
quate he would classify his Mediterranean- Hamite-Semite
group as the " Brown Race'."
A most fortunate combination of circumstances afforded
Elliot Smith an opportunity for determining the ethnic
affinities of the Egyptian people.
The Hearst Expedition of the University of California,
under the direction of G. A. Reisner, was occupied from 1901
onwards with excavations at Naga-ed-D^r in the Thebaid,
where a cemetery, excavated by A. M. Lythgoe, contained
well-preserved bodies and skeletons of the earliest known
Pre-dynastic period. Close by was a series of graves of the
First and Second Dynasties ; a few hundred yards away tombs
of the Second to the Fifth Dynasties (examined by A. C. Mace),
with a large number of tombs ranging from the time of the
Sixth Dynasty to the Twelfth. " Thus there was provided a
chronologically unbroken series of human remains representing
every epoch in the history of Upper Egypt from prehistoric
times, roughly estimated at 4000 B.C., up till the close of the
^ The Ancient Egyptians, 191 1, pp. 56, 58, 62.,
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 479
Middle Empire, more than two thousand years later." To
complete the story Coptic (Christian Egyptian) graves of the
fifth and sixth centuries were discovered on the same site.
"The study of this extraordinarily complete series of
human remains, providing in a manner such as no other site
has ever done the materials for the reconstruction of the racial
history of one spot during more than forty-five centuries, made
it abundantly clear that the people whose remains were buried
just before the introduction of Isldm into Egypt were of the
same flesh and blood as their forerunners in the same locality
before the dawn of history. And nine years' experience in
the Anatomical Department of the School of Medicine in
Cairo," continues Elliot Smith, " has left me in no doubt that
the bulk of the present population in Egypt conforms to
precisely the same racial type, which has thus been dominant
in the rforthern portion of the Valley of the Nile for sixty
centuries\"
As early as the Second Dynasty certain alien traits began
to appear, which became comparatively common in the Sixth
to Twelfth series. The non-Eeryptian characters , .,^
, 11 • • c • Armenoid Type.
are observable m remams irom numerous sites
excavated by Flinders Petrie in Lower and Middle Egypt, and
are particularly marked in the cemetery round the Giza
Pyramids (excavated by the Hearst Expedition, 1903), con-
taining remains of more than five hundred individuals, who
had lived at the time of the Pyramid-builders ; they are there-
fore referred to by Elliot Smith as "Giza traits," and attributed
to Armenoid influence. Soon after the amalgamation of the
Egyptian kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt by Menes
(Mena), consequent perhaps upon the discovery of copper and
the invention of metal implements", expeditions were sent
beyond the frontiers of the United Kingdom to obtain copper
ore, wood and other objects. Even in the times of the First
Dynasty the Egyptians began the exploitation of the mines
in the Sinai Peninsula for copper ore. It is claimed by Meyer'
that Palestine and the Phoenician coast were Egyptian de-
pendencies, and there is ample evidence that there was intimate
intercourse between Egypt and Palestine as far north as the
Lebanons before the end of the Third Dynasty. From this
1 The Ancient Egyptians, 191 1, pp. 104-5.
2 G. Elliot Smith, loc. cit. pp. 97 and 147.
3 E. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, I. 2, 1909, §§229, 232, 253.
480 Man : Past and Present [ch.
time forward the physical characters of the people of Lower
Egypt show the results of foreign admixture, and present
marked features of contrast to the pure type of Upper Egypt.
The curious blending of characters suggests that the process
of racial admixture took place in Syria rather than in Egypt
itselP. The alien type is best shown in the Giza necropolis,
and its representatives may be regarded as- the builders and
guardians of the Pyramids. The stature is about the same as
that of the Proto-Egyptians, possibly rather lower, but they
were built on far sturdier lines, their bones being more massive,
with well-developed muscular ridges and impressions, and none
of the effeminacy or infantilism of the prehistoric skeletons.
The brain-case has greater capacity with no trace of the meagre
ill-filled character exhibited by the latter. Characteristic
peculiarities were the "Grecian profile" and a jaw closely
resembling those of the round-headed Alpine races. •*'
These "Giza traits" were not a local development, for
they have been noted in all parts of Palestine and Asia Minor,
and abundantly in Persia and Afghanistan. They occur in
the Punjab but are absent from India, having an area of
greatest concentration in the neighbourhood of the Pamirs;
while in a westerly direction, besides beittg sporadically
scattered over North Africa, they are recognised again in the
extinct Guanches of the Canary Islands. From these con-
siderations Elliot Smith shapes the following " working
hypothesis."
"The Egyptians, Arabs and Sumerians may have been
kinsmen of the Brown Race, each diversely specialized by
long residence in its own domain ; and in Pre-dynastic times,
before the wider usefulness of copper as a military instrument
of tremendous power was realized, the Middle Pre-dynastic
phase of culture became diffused far and wide throughout
Arabia and Sumer. Then came the awakening to the know-
ledge of the supremacy which the possession of metal weapons
conferred upon those who wielded them in combat against
those not so armed. Upper Egypt vanquished Lower Egypt
in virtue of this knowledge and the possession of such weapons.
The United Kingdom pushed its way into Syria to obtain
wood and ore, and incidentally taught the Arabs the value of
metal weapons. The Arabs thereby obtained the supremacy
' G. Elliot Smith, The Ancient Egyptians, 1911, p. 108, but for a different
interpretation see J. li Mytes, The Dawn of Histoiy, 191 1 pp. 51 and 65.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 481
over the Armenoids of Northern Syria, atid th^ hybrid race
of Semites formed from this blend were able to descend the
Euphrates and vanquish the more cultured Sumerians, because
the latter were without metal implements of war. The non-
Semitic Armenoids of Asia Minor carried the new knowledge
into Europe*."
This hypothesis might explain some of the difficult pro-
blems connecting Egypt and Babylonia'. The non-Asiatic
origin of the Egyptian people appears to be Asiatic influence
indicated by recent excavations, but, as men- on Egyptian
tioned above, there are still many who hold that ^^"i*"'*-
Egyptian culture and civilisation were derived mainly, if not
wholly, from Asiatic (probably Sumerian) sources. The Semitic
elements existing in the ancient Egyptian language, certain
resemblances between names of Sumerian and Egyptian gods,
and the similarity of hieroglyphic characters to the Sumerian
system of writing have been cited as proofs of the dependence
of the one culture upon the other ; while the introduction of
the knowledge of metals, metal-working and the crafts of
brick-making and tomb construction have, together with the
bulbous mace-head, cylinder-seal and domesticated animals
and plants', been traced to Babylonia.
But the excavations of Reisner at Naga-ed-D6r and those
of Naville at Abydos (1909-10) appear to place the indigenous
development of Egyptian culture beyond question. Reisner's
conclusions' are that there was no sudden break of continuity
between the neolithic and early dynastic cultures of Egypt.
No essential change took place in the Egyptian conception
of life after death, or in the rites and practices accompanying
interment. The most noticeable changes, in the character of
the pottery and household vessels, in the materials for tools
and weapons and the introduction of writing, were all gradually
introduced, and one period fades into another without any
1 Loc. cit. p. 147.
2 H. R. Hall {The Ancient History of the Near East, 191 3, p. 87 n. 3) sees ''no
resemblance whatever between the facial traits of the Memphite grandees of the
Old Kingdom and those of Hittites, Syrians, or modem Anatolians, Armenians or
Kurds. They were much more like South Europeans, like modern Italians or
Cretans."
' Cf. H. H. Johnston, "A Survey of the Ethnography of Mnca," Joum. Roy.
Anthr. Soc. XLIH. 1913, p. 383, and also E. Naville, "The Origin of Egyptian
Civilisation," Z^^'^- Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvii. 1907, p. 210.
* G. A. Reisner, " The Early Dynastic Cemeteries of Naga-ed-DSr," Part I.
Vol. II. of University of California Publications, 1908, summarised by L. W. King,
History of Sumer and Akkad, 1910, pp. 326, 334.
K. 31
482 Man : Past and Present [ch.
strongly marked line of division between them. Egypt no
doubt had trading relations with surrounding countries.
Egyptians and Babylonians must have met in the markets of
Syria, and in the tents of Bedouin chiefs. Still, as Meyer
points out, far from Egypt taking over a ready-made civilisa-
tion from Babylonia, Egypt, as regards cultural influence, was
the giver not the receiver'.
One more alien element in Egypt remains to be discussed.
Most writers on Egyptian ethnology detect a Negro or at
least Negroid element in the Caucasoid popula-
Sllfture '^°"' ^'^^ although usually assigning priority to
the Negro, assume the co-existence of the two
races from time immemorial to the present day. Measurements
on more than 1000 individuals were made by C. S. Myers,
and these are his conclusions. " There is no anthropometric
(despite the historic) evidence that the population of Egypt,
past or present, is composed of several different races. Our
new anthropometric data favour the view which regards the
Egyptians always as a homogeneous people, who have varied
now towards Caucasian, now towards negroid characters
(according to environment), showing such close anthropometric
affinity to Libyan, Arabian and like neighbouring peoples,
showing such variability and possibly such power of absorption,
that from the anthropometric standpoint no evidence is obtain-
able that the modern Egyptians have been appreciably affected
by other than sporadic Sudanese admixture"."
It was seen above (Chap. III.) that non- Negro elements
are found throughout the Sudan from Senegal nearly to Darfur,
nowhere forming the whole of the population,
* " but nearly always the dominant native race.
These are the Fulah (Fula, Fulbe or Fulani), whose ethnic
affinities have given rise to an enormous amount of speculation.
Their linguistic peculiarity had led many ethnologists to regaird
them as the descendants of the first white colonists of North
Africa, " Caucasoid invaders," 1 5,000 years ago, prior to H amitic
intrusions from the east'. Thus would be explained the fact
that their language betrays absolutely no structural affinity
with Semitic or Libyo-Hamitic groups, or with any other
' Geschichte des Altertums, I. 2, 1909, p. 156.
2 Journ. Anthr. Inst. XXXlll. 1903, XXXV. 1905, xxxvi. 1906, anAJourn. Roy.
Anthr. Inst, xxxviii. 1908.
5 Cf. H. H. Johnston, "A Survey of the Ethnography of Airica.," Journ. Roy.
Antfir. Inst. Xhlll. igi2, p- 3S2.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 483
speech families outside Africa, though offering faint resem-
blances in structure with the Lesghian' speech of the Caucasus
and the Dravidian tongues of Baluchistan and India. Physi-
cally there seems to be nothing to differentiate them from
other blends" of Hamite-Negro. The physical type of the
pure-bred Fulah H. H. Johnston describes as follows : " Tall
of stature (but not gigantic, like the Nilote and South-east
Sudanese), olive-skinned or even a pale yellow ; well-pro-
portioned, with delicate hands and feet, without steatopygy,
with long, oval face, big nose (in men), straight nose in women
(nose finely cut, like that of the Caucasian), eyes large and
"melting," with an Egyptian look about them, head-hair'
long, black, kinky or ringlety, never quite straight^" They
were at first a quiet people, herdsmen and shepherds
with a high and intricate type of pagan religion which still
survives in parts of Nigeria. But large numbers of them
became converted to Islam from the twelfth century onwards
and gained some knowledge of the world outside Africa by
their pilgrimages to Mecca. At the end of the eighteenth
and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries an uprise of
Muhammadan fanaticism and a proud consciousness of their
racial superiority to the mere Negro armed them as an aris-
tocracy to wrest political control of all Nigeria from the hands
of Negro rulers or the decaying power of Tuareg and Songhai.
This race was all unconsciously carrying on the Caucasian
invasion and penetration of Africa.
A less controversial problem is presented by the Eastern
Hamites, who form a continuous chain of dark Caucasic
peoples from the Mediterranean to the equator, other Eastern
and whose ethnical unity is now established by Hamites— Bejas
Sergi on anatomical grounds*. Bordering on — So^n^is.
Upper Egypt, and extending thence to the foot of the
Abyssinian plateau, is the Beja section, whose chief divisions
— Ababdeh, Hadendoa, Bisharin, Beni Amer — have from the
earliest times occupied the whole region between the Nile and
the Red Sea.
1 No physical affinity is suggested. The Lesghian tribes "betray an accentuated
brachycephaly equal to that of the pure Mongols about the Caspians." W. Z. Ripley,.
The Races of Europe, p. 440.
^ J. Deniker, The Races of Man, 1900, p. 439, places the Fulahs in a separate
group, the Fulah-Zandeh group. Cf. also A. C. Haddon, The Wanderings of
Peoples, 191 1, p. 59-
' Loc. cit. p. 401 n.
* Africa, i8g7, passim.
31 — 2
484 Man : Past and Present {ch.
C. G. Seligman has analysed the physical and cultural
characters of the Beja tribes {Biskarin, Hadendoa and Beni
Amer), the Barabra, nomad Arabs (such as the Kababish and
Kawahld), Nilotes {Shilluk, Dinka, Nuer) and half-Hamites
{Ba-Hima, Masai), in an attempt by eliminating the Negro
and Semitic elements to deduce the main features which may
be held to indicate Hamitic influence. He regards the Beni
Amer as approximating most closely to the original Beja type
which he thus describes; " Summarizing their physical char-
acteristics it may be said that they are moderately short,
slightly built men, with reddish-brown or brown skins in which
a greater or less tinge of black is present, while in some cases
the skin is definitely darker and presents some shade of brown-
black. The hair is usually curly, in some instances it certainly
might be described as wavy, but the method of hair dressing
adopted tends to make difficult an exact description of its
condition. Often, as is everywhere common amongst wearers
of turbans, the head is shaved.... The face is usually long and
oval, or approaching the oval in shape, the jaw is often lightly
built, which with the presence of a rather pointed chin may
tend to make the upper part of the face appear disproportion-
ately broad. The nose is well shaped and thoroughly Caucasian
in type and form\" Among ithe Hadendoa the " Armenoid"
or so-called "Jewish" nose is not uncommon. Seligman
draws attention to the close resemblance between the Beja
type and that of the ancient Egyptians.
Through the Afars (Danakil) of the arid coastlands between
Abyssinia and the sea, the Bejas are connected with the nu-
merous Hamitic populations of the Somali and
Ge^iogies. ^^"^ ^^^^S- ^^"^ ^he term "Somal," which is
quite recent and of course unknown to the
natives, H. M. Abud^ suggests an interesting and plausible
explanation. Being a hospitable people, and milk their staple
food, " the* first word a stranger would hear on visiting their
kraals would be ' S6 mil,' i.e. ' Go and bring milk.' " Strangers
may have named them from this circumstance, and other
tribal names may certainly be traced to more improbable
sources.
1 "Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan,"
Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLIII. 191 3, p. 604. See also C. Crossland, Desert and
Water Gardens of the Red Sea, 1913.
^ Genealogies of the Somal, 1896.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 485
The natives hold that two races inhabit the land : ( i ) Asha,
true Somals, of whom there are two great divisions, Ddrdd
and Iskdk, both claiming descent from certain noble Arab
families, though no longer of Arab speech ; (2) HAwfvA, who
are not counted by the others as true Somals, but only "pagans,"
and also comprise two main branches, Aysa and Gadabursi.
In the national genealogies collected by Abud and Cox, many
of the mythical heroes are buried at or near Meit, which may
thus be termed the cradle of the Somal race. From this
point they spread in all directions, the Dar6ds pushing south
and driving the. Galla beyond the Webbe Shebel, and till
lately raiding them as far as the Tana river. It should be
noticed that these genealogical tables are far from cotnplete,
for they exclude most of the southern sections, notably the
Rahanwin who have a very wide range on both sides of the Jub.
In the statements made by the natives about true Somals
and "pagans," race and religion are confused, and the distinction
between Asha and Hdwiya is merely one between Moslem and
infidel. The latter are probably of much purer stock than the
former, whose very genealogies testify to interminglings of
the Moslem Arab intruders with the heathen aborigines.
Despite their dark colour C. Keller' has no difficulty in
regarding the Somali as members of the " Caucasic Race."
The Semitic type crops out decidedly in several groups, and
they are generally speaking of fine physique, well grown, with
proud bearing and often with classic profile, though the type
is very variable owing to Arab and Negro grafts on the
Hamitic stock. The hair is never woolly, but, like that of
the Beja, ringlety and less thick than the Abyssinian and
Galla, sometimes even quite straight. The forehead is finely
•rounded and prominent, eye moderately large and rather
deep-set, nose straight, but also snub and aquiline, mouth
regular, lips not too thick, head sub-dolichocephalic.
Great attention has been paid to all these Eastern Hamitic
peoples by Ph. Paulitschke^ who regards the Galla as both
intellectually and morally superior to the Somals and Afars,
the chief reason being that the baneful influences exercised by
the Arabs and Abyssinians affect to a far greater extent the
two latter than the former group.
' " Reisestudien in den Somalilandern," Globus, Lxx. p. 33 sq.
2 Ethnographie Nord-Ost-Afrikas: Die geistige Kuliur der Dandkil, Galla u.
Somdl, 1896, 2 vols.
486 Man : Past and Present [ch.
The Galla appear to have reached the African coast before
the Da;nakil and Somali, but were driven south-east by pressure
from the latter, leaving Galla remnants as serfs
among the southern Somali, while the presence
of servile negroid tribes among the Galla gives proof of an
earlier population which they partially displaced. Subsequent
pressure from the Masai on the south forced the Galla into
contact with the Dajidkil, and a branch penetrating inland
established themselves on the north and east of Victoria
Nyanza, where they are known to-day as the Ba-Hima, Wa-
Tusi, Wa-Ruanda and kindred tribes, which have been de-
scribed on p. 91.
The Masai, the terror of their neighbours, are a mixture
of Galla and Nilotic Negro, producing what has been described
. as the finest type in Africa. The build is slender
and the height often over six feet, the face is
well formed, with straight nose and finely cut nostrils, the hair
is usually frizzly, and the skin dark or reddish brown. They
are purely pastoral, possessing enormous herds of cattle in
which they take great pride, but they are chiefly remarkable
for their military organisation which was hardly surpassed by
that of the Zulu. They have everywhere found in the agri-
cultural peoples an easy prey, and until the reduction of their
wealth by rinderpest (since 1891) and the restraining influence
of the white man, the Masai were regarded as an ever-dreaded
scourge by all the less warlike inhabitants of Eastern Africa'.
Amongst the Abyssinian Hamites we find the strangest
interminglings of primitive and more advanced religious ideas.
On a seething mass of African heathendom, already in pre-
Abyssinian historic times affected by early Semitic ideas intro-
Hamites: duced by the Himyarites from South Arabia, was-
Religion. somewhat suddenly imposed an undeveloped form
of Christianity by the preaching of Frumentius in the fourth
century, with results that cannot be called satisfactory. While
the heterogeneous ethnical elements have been merged in a
composite Abyssinian nationality, the discordant religious ideas
1 M. Merker, Die Masai, 1904; A. C. HoUis, The Masai, their Language and
Folklore, 1905. C. Dundas, " The Organization and Laws of some Bantu Tribes
in East Mrica," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLV. 1915, pp. 236-7, thinks that the power
of the Masai was over-rated, and that the Galla were really a fiercer race. He
quotes Krapf, "Give me the Galla and I have Central Africa." The Nandi (an
aUied tribe) are described by A. C. HoUis, 1909, and The Suk by M. W. H. Beech,
1911.
xiii] The Caucasic Peoples 487
have never yet been fused in a consistent uniform system.
Hence "Abyssinian Christianity" is a sort of by-word even
amongst the Eastern Churches, while the social institutions are
marked by elementary notions of justice and paradoxical
"shamanistic" practices, interspersed with a few sublime moral
precepts. M any th ings came as a surprise to the members of the
Rennell Rodd Mission \ who could not understand such a
strange mixture of savagery and lofty notions in a Christian
community which, for instance, accounted accidental death as
wilful murder. The case is mentioned of a man falling from a
tree on a friend below and killing him. "He was adjudged to
perish at the hands of the bereaved family, in the same manner
as the corpse. But the family refused to sacrifice a second
member, so the culprit escaped." Dreams also are resorted to,
as in the days of the Pharaohs, for detecting crime. A priest is
sent for, and if his prayers and curses fail, a small boy is
drugged and told to dream. "Whatever person he dreams of
is fixed on as the criminal ; no further proof is needed.... If
the boy does not dream of the person whom the priest has
determined on as the criminal, he is kept under drugs until he
does what is required of him."
To outsiders society seems to be a strange jumble of an
iron despotism, which forbids the selling of a horse for over
£\o under severe penalties, and a personal freedom oi" licence,
which allows the labourer to claim his wages after a week's
work and forthwith decamp to spend them, returning next day
or next month as the humour takes him. Yet somehow things
hold together, and a few Semitic immigrants from South Arabia
have for over 2000 years contrived to maintain some kind of
control over the Hamitic aborigines who have always formed
the bulk of the population in Abyssinia".
' A. E. W. Gleichen, Rennell Rodd^s Mission to Menelik, 1897.
2 Among recent works on Abyssinia may be mentioned A. B. Wylde, Modern
Abyssinia, 1901 ; H. Weld Blundell, "A Journey through Abyssinia," Geog. Journ.
XV. 1900, and "Exploration in the Abai Basin," ib. xxvil. 1906 ; the Anthropological
Survey of Abyssinia published by the French Government in 1911 ; and various
publications of the Princeton University Expedition to Abyssinia, edited by
E. Littmann.
CHAPTER XIV
THE CAUCASIC PEOPLES {continued)
The Semites— Cradle, Origins, and Migrations — Divisions: Semitic Migrations —
Babylonia, People and Civilisation — Assyria, People and Civilisation — Syria
and Palestine — Canaanites: Amorites : Phoenicians — The yews — Origins —
Early and Later Dispersions — Diverse Physical Types — Present Range and
Population — The Hittites— Conflicting Theories— 7^/4^ ^ra^j— Spread of
the Arab Race and Language — Semitic Monotheism — Its Evolution.
, The Hirtiyaritic immigrants, who still hold sway in a foreign
land, have long ceiased to exist as a distinct nationality in their
own country, where they had nevertheless ages ago founded
flourishing enipires, centres of one of the very oldest civilisa-
tions of which there is any record. Should future research
confirm the now generally received view that Hamites and
Semites are fundamentally of one stock, a view based both on
The Semites— physical and linguistic dataS the cradle of the
Cradle, Origins, Semitic branch will also probably be traced to
and Migrations. South Arabia, and more particularly to that south-
western region known to the ancients as Arabia Felix, i.e. the
Yemen of the Arabs. While Asia and Africa were still partly
separated in the north by a broad marine inlet before the for-
mation of the Nile delta, easy communication was afforded
between the two continents farther south at the head of the
Gulf of Aden, where they are still almost contiguous. By this
route the primitive Hamito-Semitic populations may have
moved either westwards into Africa, or, as has also been sug-
gested, eastwards into Asia, where in the course of ages the
Semitic type became specialised.
On this assumption. South Arabia would necessarily be the
first home of the Semites, who in later times spread thence
„. . . north and east. They appear as Babylonians
^JlVlSlOtlS 0 L X. •
and Assyrians in Mesopotamia ; as Phoenicians
on the Syrian coast; as Arabs on the Nejd steppe ; as
1 The divergent views of orientalists concerning Semitic (linguistic) origin^ are
summarised by W. Z. Ripley, The Races of Europe, 1900, p. 375.
CH. XI v] The Caucasic Peoples 489
Canaanites, Moabites and others in and about Palestine ; as
Amorites {Aramaeans, Syrians) in Syria and Asia Minor.
This is the common view of Semitic origins and early
migrations, but as practically no systematic excavations have
been possible in Arabia, owing to political conditions and the
attitude of the inhabitants, definite archaeological or anthro-
pological proofs are still lacking. The hypothesis would, how-
ever, seem to harmonise well with all the known conditions.
In the first place is to be considered the very narrow area
occupied by the Semites, both absolutely and relatively to the
domains of the other fundamental ethnical groups. While the
Mongols are found in possession of the greater part of Asia,
and the Hamites with the Mediterraneans are diffused over
the whole of North Africa, South and West Europe since the
Stone Ages, the Semites, excluding later expansions — Himy-
arites to Abyssinia, Phoenicians to the shores of the Mediter-
ranean, Moslem Arabs to Africa, I rania, and Transoxiana —
have always been confined to the south-west corner of Asia,
comprising very little more than the Arabian Peninsula, Meso-
potamia, Syria, and (doubtfully) parts of Asia Minor. More-
over the whole mental outlook of the Semites, their mode of
thought, their religion and organisation, indicate their deriva-
tion from a desert people ; while in Arabia are found at the
present time the purest examples not only of Semitic type, but
also of Semitic speech \ Their early history, however, as
pointed out above, still awaits the spade of the archaeologist,
and the earliest migrations that can be definitely traced are in
the form of invasions of already established states^
The first great wave of Semitic migration from Arabia is
placed in the fourth millennium B.C., 3500 to 2500 or earlier; it
affected Babylonia and probably Syria and Pales-
tine, judging from the Palestinian place-names Mirations,
belonging to this "Babylonian-Semitic" period,
and the close connection between Palestine and Babylonia in
' E. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, i. 2, 1909, § 336. O. Procksch, however,
while regarding the origin of the Semites as an unsolved problem, considers Arabia
as their centre of dispersal rather than their original home. As far as early Semitic
migrations can be traced he thinks they indicate a north to south direction, and he
sees no cause for disputing the Biblical account {fien. ii. 10 ff.) deriving the descen-
dants of Shem " from the neighbourhood of Ararat, i.e. Armenia, across the Taurus
to the North Syrian plain." " Die Volker Altpalastinas," Das Land der Bibel, 1. 2,
1914, p. II. Cf. also J. L. Myres, The Dawn 0/ History, 191 1, p. 115. '
2 For the discussion as to whether Semites or Sumerians were the earlier occu-
pants of Babylonia see p. 263 above.
490 Man : Past and Present [ch.
culture and in religious ideas, indicating prehistoric relation-
ship\ A second wave, Winckler's Canaanitic or Amoritic
migration, followed in the third millennium, covering Babylonia,
laying the foundations of the Assyrian Empire, invading Syria
and Palestine (Phoenicians, Amorites) and possibly later Egypt
{Hyksos). A third wave, the Aramaean, which spread over
Babylonia, Mesopotamia and Syria in the second millennium,
was preceded by the swarming into Syria from the desert of
the Khabiri (Habiru) or Hebrews (Edomites, Moabites, Am-
monites and Israelites among others). From the same area
the Suti pressed into Babylonia about i loo, followed by another
branch, the Chaldeans from Eastern Arabia.
These are but a few of the earlier waves of migration from
the south of which traces can be detected in Western Asia.
Of all invasions from the north, that of the Hittites is the most
important and the most confusing. The Hittites appear to have
moved south from Cappadocia about 2000 B.C., and they are
found warring against Babylonia in the eighteenth century. A
Hittite dynasty flourished at Mittanni 1420-1411 and in the
fourteenth and thirteenth centuries they conquered and largely
occupied Syrial Invasions of Phrygian^ and Philistines from
the west followed the breaking up of the Hittite Empire. The
last great Semitic migration was the most widespread of all.
" It issued, like its predecessors, along the whole margin of the
desert, and in the course of a century had flooded not only
Syria and Egypt, but all North Africa and Spain ; it had
occupied Sicily, raided Constance, and in France was only
checked at Poitiers in 732. Eastward it flooded Persia,
founded an empire in India, and carried war and commerce
by sea past Singapore'."
" Thus Western Asia has been swept times and again,
almost without number, by conquering hordes and the no less
severe ethnical disturbances of peaceful infiltrations converging
from every point of the compass in turn How, then, is it
possible to learn anything today from the contents of this
cauldron, filled with such an assortment of ingredients and still
* Hugo Winckler, "Die Volker Vorderasiens,'' Der Alte Orient, I. 1900, pp.
14-15 and Auszug aus der Vorderasiatische Geschichte, 1905, p. 2.
^ Cf. A. C. Haddon, Wanderings of Peoples, 191 1, p. 21.
^ J. L. Myres, The Dawn of History, 191 1, pp. 1 18-9. For an admirable de-
scription of the Semitic migrations see pp. 104-5, ^"^^ for the geographical aspect,
see E. C. Semple, Influences of Geographic Environment : on the basis of KatzeVs
System of Anthropo-Geography, 1911, pp. 6-7 and uhder " Nomads" in the Index.
xiv] The Caucasic Peoples 491
seething from the effects of the disturbance incidental to the
harsh mixing of such incompatible elements' ? " Some of the
problems must for the present be regarded as insoluble, but
with the evidence provided by archaeologists and anthropologists
an attempt may be made to read the ethnological history in
these obscure regions.
The earliest Semitic wave was traceable in Babylonia, but,
as seen above, opinions differ as to its origin and date. "At
what period the Semites first invaded Baby- Babylonia,
Ionia, when and where they first attained supre- People and
macy, are not yet matters of history. We find Civilisation.
Semites in the land and in possession of considerable power
almost as early as we can go back^" The characteristic
Semitic features are clearly marked, and the language is closely
connected with Canaanitic and Assyrianl From the monu-
ments we learn that the Babylonian Semites had full beards
and wore their hair long, contrasting sharply with the shaven
Sumerians, and thus gaining the epithet " the black-headed
ones." In nose and lips, as in dress, they are clearly distinct
from the Sumerian type*.
When history commences, the inhabitants of Babylonia
were already highly civilised. They lived in towns, containing
great temples, and were organised in distinct classes or occu-
pations, and possessed much wealth in sheep and cattle, manu-
factured goods, gold, silver and copper. Engraving on metals
and precious stones, statuary, architecture, pottery, weaving
and embroidery, all show a high level of workmanship. They
possessed an elaborate and efficient system of writing, exten-
sively used and widely understood, consisting of a number of
signs, obviously descended from a form of picture writing, but
conventionalised to an extent that usually precludes the recog-
nition of the original pictures. This writing was made by the
impression of a stylus on blocks or cakes of fine clay while still
quite soft. These " tablets " were sun-dried, but occasionally
baked hard. This cuneiform writing was adopted by, or was
common to, many neighbouring nations, being freely used in
1 G. Elliot Smith, The Ancient Egyptians, 191 1, p. 133.
2 C. H. W. Johns, Ancient Babylonia, 1913, pp. 18-19. Fo"" culture see pp.
16-17.
3 O. Procksch, "Die Volker Altpalastinas," Das Land der Bibel, i. 2, 1914.
* Cf. E. Meyer, "Sumerier und Semiten in Babylonien," Abh. der Konigl.
Preuss. Akad. des Wissenschaft. 1906; L. W. King, History of Sumer and Akkad,
1910, p. 4off.
492 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Elam, Armenia and Northern Mesopotamia a& far as Cappa-
docia,
Assyrian culture was founded upon that of Babylonia, but
the Assyrians appear to have differed from the Babylonians
Assyria ^"^ character, though not in physical type\ while
People and they were closely related in speech. " The
CiviUsation. Assyrians differed markedly from the Baby-
lonians in national character. They were more robust, war-
like, fierce, than the mild industrial people of the south. It is
doubtful if they were much devoted to agriculture, or distin-
guished for manufactures, arts and crafts. They were essen-
tially a military folk. The king was a despot at home, but
the general of the army abroad. The whole organisation of
the state was for war. The agriculture was left to serfs or
slaves. The manufactures, weaving at any rate, were done
by women. The guilds of workmen were probably foreigners,
as the merchants mostly were. The great temples and palaces,
walls and moats, were constructed by captives. ... For the greater
part of its existence Assyria was the scourge of the nations
and sucked the blood of other races. It lived on the tribute
of subject states, and conquest ever meant added tribute in all
necessaries and luxuries of life, beside an annual demand for
men and horses, cattle and sheep, grain and wool to supply the
needs of the army and the city^"
The early history of Syria 'and Palestine is by no means
clear, although niuch light has been shed in recent years by the
Syria and excavations of R. A. S. Macalister at Gezer',
Palestine. where remains were found of a pre-Semitic race,
Amoritesr ' ^^ ^rnst Sellin at'Tell Ta'anek and Jericho^, and
Phoenicians : the labours of the Deutscher Paliistina- Verein and
J®^s- especially G. Schumacher at Megiddo". Caves
apparently occupied by man in the Neolithic period were dis-
covered at Gezer, and are dated at about 3500 to 3000 B.C.
' In the Assyrians von Luschan detects traces of the hyperbrachycephalic
people of Asia Minor and Armenia, for they appear to differ from the pure Semites
especially in the shape of the nose. Meyer regards this variation as possibly due
to a prehistoric population, but, he adds, studies of physical types both historically
and anthropologically are in their infancy. E. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, i. 2,
1909. § 330 A.
2 C. H. W. Johns, Ancient Assyria, 1912, p. 8.
^ Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statements, 1902 onwards. See also
L. B. Paton, Art. " Canaanites," in 'W^'aim.%^ Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.
* Tell Ta'anek, 1904, Denkschriften, Vienna Academy, and " The German Ex-
cavations at Jericho," Pal. Expl. Fund Quart. St. 1910.
' Tell el-Mutesellim, 1908.
xiv] The Caucasic Peoples 493
from their position below layers in which Egyptian scarabs
appear. Fragments of bones give indications of the physical
type. None of the individuals exceeded 5 ft. 7 inches (i 702 m.)
in height, and most were under 5 ft. 4 inches (i'626 m.). They
were muscular, with elongated crania and thick heavy skull-
bones. From their physical characters it could be clearly seen
that they did not belong to the Semitic race. They burned
their dead, a non-Semitic custom, a cave being fitted up as a
crematorium, with a chimney cut up through the solid rock to
secure a good draught'.
The first great influx of Semitic nomads is conjectured to
have reached Babylonia, not from the south, but from the
north-west, after traversing the Syrian coast lands. They left
colonists behind them in this region, who afterwards as the
Amurru (Amorites) pressed on in their turn into Babylonia and
established the earliest independent dynasty in Babylonl
The second great wave of Semitic migration appears to
have included the Phoenicians^ so called by the Greeks, though
they called themselves Canaanites and their land Canaan*, and
are referred to in the Old Testament, as in inscriptions at
Tyre, as " Sidonians." They themselves had a tradition that
their early home was on the Persian Gulf, a view held by
Theodore Bent and others', and recent discoveries emphasise
the close cultural (not necessarily racial) connection between
Palestine and Babylonia".
The weakening of Egyptian hold upon Palestine about the
fourteenth century B.C. encouraged incursions of restless Habiru
(Habiri) from the Syrian deserts, commonly identified with the
Hebrews, and invasions of Hittites from the north. In the
thirteenth century Egypt recovered Palestine, leaving the
Hittites in possession of Syria. About this time the coast was
1 Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statements, 1902, p. 347 fif.
* L. W. King, History of Sumer and Akkad, igio, p. 55; C. H. W. Johns,
Ancient Babylonia, 1913, pp. 61-2 ; L. B. Paton, Art. "Canaanites," Hastings'^wiry.
of Religion and Ethics, 1910 ; E. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, I. 2, 1909, §§ 396,
436; O. Procksch, "DieV6lkerAltpalastinas,"i?ajZ««^(/^>'5z*«/, 1.2, i9i4,p.2Sff.;
G. Maspero, The Struggle of the Nations, Egypt, Syria, and Assyria, 1910.
3 ^oiviKfs, probably meaning red, either on account of their sun-burnt skin, or
from the dye for which they were famous. For the Phoenician physical type cf.
W. Z. Ripley, Races of Europe, 1900, pp. 287, 444.
* In the Old Testament "Cdnaanite" and "Amorite" are usually synonymous.
<> A. C. Haddon, Wanderings of Peoples, 191 1, p. 22. For a general account of
Phoenician history see J. P. Mahaffy, in Hutchinson's History of the Nations, 1914,
p. 303 ff.
* Cf. Morris, Jastrow, Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions (Haskell Lectures),
1913-
494 Man: Past and Present [ch..
invaded by Levantines, including the Purasati, in whom may
perhaps be recognised the PhiHstines, who gave their name to
Palestine^
With the Hebrew or Israelitish inhabitants of south Syria
(Canaan, Palestine, " Land of Promise") we are here concerned
only in so far as they form a distinct branch of the Semitic family.
The term "Jews'," properly indicating the children
ejews. of Judah, fourth son of Jacob, has long been ap-
plied generally to the whole people, who since the disappearance
of the ten northern tribes have been mainly represented by the
tribe of Judah, a remnant of Benjamin and a few Levites, i.e.
the section of the nation which to the number of some 50,000
returned to south Palestine (kingdom of Judaea) after the
Babylonian captivity. These were doubtless later joined by
some of the dispersed northern tribes, who from Jacob's alter-
native name were commonly called the "ten tribes of Israel."
But all such Israelites had lost their separate nationality, and
were consequently absorbed in the royal tribe of Judah. Since
the suppression of the various revolts under the Empire, the
Judaei themselves have been a dispersed nationality, and even
before those events numerous settlements had been made in
different parts of the Greek and Roman worlds, as far west as
Tripolitana, and also in Arabia and Abyssinia.
But most of the present communities probably descend from
those of the great dispersion after the fall of Jerusalem (70 a.d.),
increased by considerable accessions of converted "Gentiles,"
for the assumption that they have made few or no converts is
no longer tenable. In exile they have been far more a religious
body than a broken nation, and as such they could not fail under
favourable conditions to spread their teachings, not only
amongst their Christian slaves, but also amongst peoples,
suqh as the Abyssinian Falashas, of lower culture than them-
selves. In pre-Muhammadan times many Arabs of Yemen
and other districts had conformed, and some of their Jewish
kings (Asad Abu-Karib, Dhu Nowas, and others) are still
remembered. About the seventh century all the Khazars — a
renowned Turki people of the Volga, the Crimea, and the
1 See S. A. Cook, Art. "Jews," Ency. .Brit. 1911; O. Procksch, "Die Voiker
Altpalastinas," Das Land der Bibel, i. 2, 1914, p. 28 ff.
^ From Old French Juis, Lat. Judaei, i.e. Sons of Jehiidah (Judah). See my
article, "Jews," in Cassell's Storehouse of General Information, 1893, from which I
take many of the following particulars.
xiv] The, Caucasic Peoples 495
Caspian — accepted Judaism, though they later conformed to
Russian orthodoxy. The Visigoth persecution of the Spanish
Jews (fifth and sixth centuries) was largely due to their prose-
lytising zeal, against which, as well as against Jewish and
Christian mixed marriages, numerous papal decrees were issued
in medieval times.
To this process of miscegenation is attributed the great
variety of physical features observed amongst the Jews of
different countries', while the distinctly red type cropping out
almost everywhere has been traced by Sayce and Diverse
others to primordial interminglings with the Physical
Amorites ("Red People"). "Uniformity only "^^P^^-
exists in the books and not in reality. There are Jews with
light and with dark eyes, Jews with straight and with curly
hair, Jews with high and narrow and Jews with short and broad,
noses ; their cephalic index oscillates between 65 and 98 — as
far as this index ever oscillates in i)s\& genus homo^ ! " Never-
theless ■ certain marked characteristics — large hooked nose,
prominent watery eyes, thick pendulous and almost everted
under lip, rough frizzly lustreless hair — are sufficiently general
to be regarded as racial traits.
The race is richly endowed with the most varied qualities,
as shown by the whole tenour of their history. Originally
pure nomads, they became excellent agriculturists after the
settlement in Canaan, and since then they have given proof
of the highest capacity for science, letters, erudition of all
kinds, finance, music, and diplomacy. The reputation of the
medieval Arabs as restorers of learning is largely due to their
wise tolerance of the enlightened Jewish communities in their
midst, and on the other hand Spain and Portugal have never
recovered from the national loss sustained by the expulsion of
the Jews in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In late
years the persecutions, especially in Russia, have caused a fresh
exodus from the east of Europe, and by the aid of philanthro-
pic capitalists flourishing agricultural settlements have been
1 W. M. Flinders Petrie attributes the variation to environment, not miscegena-
tion. "History and common observation lead us to the equally legitimate conclusion
that the country and not the race determines the cranium." " Migrations," yoKr^.
Anthr. Inst, xxxvi. 1906, p. 218. He is here criticising the excellent discussion
of the whole question in W. Z. Ripley's The Races of Europe, 1900, Chap. xiv. "The
Jews and Semites," pp, 368-400, with bibliography. Cf. also R. N. Salaman, "He-
redity and the ]e-ws," Journ. of Genetics, I. p. 274.
2 F. von Luschan, "The Early Inhabitants ofWestern Asia,"/i?«r«. Roy. Anthr.
Inst. XLi. 191 1, p- 326.
49^ Man : Past and Present [ch.
founded in Palestine and Argentina. From statistics taken
in various places up to 191 1 the Jewish communities are at
present estimated at about 1 2,000,000, of whom three-fourths
are in Europe, 380,000 in Africa, 500,000 in Asia, the rest in
America and Australia'.
Intimately associated with all these Aramaic Canaanitic
Semites were a mysterious people who have been identified
-T~^ „-^-. with the Hittites'^ of Scripture, and to whom this
The Hittites. , , i i i
name has been extended by common consent.
They are also identified with the Kheta of the Egyptian monu-
ments', as well as with the Khatti of the Assyrian cuneiform
texts. Indeed all these are, without any clear proof, assumed
to be the same people, and to them are ascribed a considerable
number of stones, cylinders, and gems from time to time picked
up at various points between the Middle Euphrates and the
Mediterranean, engraved in a kind of hieroglyphic or rather
pictorial script, which has been variously deciphered according
to the bias or fancy of epigraphists. This simply means that
the "Hittite texts" have not yet been interpreted, and are
likely to remain unexplained, until a clue is found in some bi-
lingual document, such as the Rosetta Stone, which surrendered
the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. L. Messerschmidt,
editor of a number of Hittite texts^ declared (in 1902) that
only one sign in two hundred had been interpreted with any
certainty ^ and although the system of A. H. Sayce* is based
on a scientific plan, his decipherments must for the present
remain uncertain. The important tablets found by H. Winck-
ler in 1907^ at Boghaz Keui in Cappadocia, identified with
Khatti, the Hittite capital, have thrown much light on Hittite
history, and support many of Sayce's conjectures. The records
' M. Fishberg, The Jews, rgii, p. 10.
2 As Heth, settled in Hebron {Gen. xxiii. 3) and the central uplands {Num. xiii.
29) but also as a confederacy of tribes to the north (i Kings x. 29, 2 Kings vii. 6).
^ This identification is based on "the casts of Hittite profiles made by Petrie
from the Egyptian monuments. The profiles are peculiar, unlike those of any other
people represented by the Egyptian artists, but they are identical with the profiles
which occur among the Hittite hieroglyphs" (A. H. Sayce, Acad., Sept. 1894, p. 259).
* "Corpus insc. Hetticarum," Zeitschr. d. d. morgenldnd. Gesellsch. 1900, 1902,
igo6, etc.
6 "Die Hettiter," Der Alte Orient, 1.4, 1902, p. 14 «. The sign in question,
a bisected oval, is interpreted " god."
* "Decipherment of the Hittite Inscriptions," Soc. of Bibl. Archaeology, 1903,
and "Hittite Inscriptions," ib. 1905, 1907.
' Orient. LiteraturseituHg,\qpT,&vA.Orient-GesellscKi.yy]. See D. G. Hogarth,
"Recent Hittite Research," /o»r«. Roy. Anthr. Inst, xxxvi. 1909, p. 408.
xiv] The Caucasic Peoples 497,
show that the Hittites were one of the great nations of an^
tiquity, with a power extending at its prime from the Asiatic
coast of the Aegean to Mesopotamia, and from the Black Sea
to Kadesh on the Orontes, a power which neither Egypt nor
Assyria could withstand. " It is still not certain to which of
the great families of nations they belonged. The suggestion
has been made that their language has certain Indo-European
characteristics ; but for the present it is safer to regard them
as an indigenous race of Asia Minor. Their strongly-marked
facial type, with long, straight nose and receding forehead and
chin, is strikingly reproduced on all their monuments, and
suggests no comparison with Aryan or Semitic stocks'."
F. von Luschan, however, is able to throw some light on
the ethnological history of the Hittites. When investigating
the early inhabitants of Western Asia he was constantly struck
by the appearance of a markedly non-Semitic type, which he
called" Arm enoid." The most typical were the Tahtadji or
woodcutters of Western Lycia living up in the mountains and
totally distinct in every way from their Mohammedan neigh-
bours. " Their somatic characters are remarkably homo-
geneous ; they have a tawny white skin, much hair on the face,
straight hair, dark brown eyes, a narrow, generally aquiline
nose, and a very short and high head. The cephalic index
varies only from 82 to 91, with a maximum frequency of 86^"
Similar types were found in the Bektash, who are town-dwellers,
in Lycia, and in the Ansariyeh in Northern Syria. In Upper
Mesopotamia these features occur again among the Kyzylbash,
and in Western Kurdistan among the Yezidi. "We find a
small minority of groups possessing a similarity of creed and,
a remarkable uniformity of type, scattered over a vast part of
Western Asia. I see no other way to account for this fact
than to assume that the members of all these sects are the
remains of an old homogeneous population, which have pre-
served their religion and have therefore refrained from inter-
marriage with strangers and so preserved their old physical
characteristics'." They all speak the languages of their ortho-
' L. W. King, "The Hittites," Hutchinson's ffistory of ike /Vaiions, 19 14, p. 263.
For this type see the illustration of Hittite divinities, Pi. XXXI. of F. von Luschan'?
paper referred to below. For language see now C. J. S. Marstrander, " Caractfere
Indo-Europden de la langue Hittite," Videnskapsselskapets Skrifter 11 Hist. Jilos.
Klasse, 1918, No. 2.
2 "The Early Inhabitants of Western hs\a.,'' Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLI. 191 1,
p. 230. For this region see D. G. Hogarth, The Nearer East, \<yy2, with ethnological
map. ^ Loc. cit. p. ^32.
K. 32
498 Man : Past and Present [ch.
dox neighbours, Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish, but are abso-
lutely homogeneous as to their somatic characters. Two other
groups with the same physical type are the Druses of the
Lebanon and Antilebanos country, who speak Arabic and pass
officially as Mohammedans, though their secret creed contains
many Christian, Jewish and pantheistic elements. To the
north of the Druses are the Christian Maronites, said to be
the descendants of a Monophysite sect, separated from the
common Christian Church after the Council of Chalcedon in
451 A.D. "Partly through their isolation in the mountains,
partly through their not intermarrying with their Mahometan
or Druse neighbours, the Maronites of today have preserved
an old type in almost marvellous purity. In no other Oriental
group is there a greater number of men with extreme height
of the skull and excessive flattening of the occipital region
than among the Maronites.... Very often their occiput is so
steep that one is again and again inclined to think of artificial
deformation." But " no such possibility is found\"
These hypsibrachycephalic groups with high narrow noses,
found also in Persia, among Turks, Greeks, and still more
commonly among Armenians, were first (1892) called by von
Luschan "Armenoid," but "there can be no doubt that they
are all descended from tribes belonging to the great Hittite
Empire. So it is the type of the Hittites that has been pre-
served in all these groups for more than 3000 years"." As to
their primordial home von Luschan connects them with the
" Alpine Race " of Central Europe, but leaves it an open
question whether the Hittites came from Central Europe, or
the Alpine Race from Western Asia, though inclining to the
latter view. The high narrow nose (the essential somatic
difference between the Hittites and the other brachycephalic
Arabs) " originated as a merely accidental mutation and was
then locally fixed, either by a certain tendency of taste and
fashion or by long, perhaps millennial in-breeding. The
'Hittite nose' has finally become a dominant characteristic
in the Meridelian sense, and we see it, not only in the actual
geographical province of the Alpine Racej but often enough
also here in England^"
In Arabia itself inscriptions point to the early existence of
civilised kingdoms, among which those of the Sabaeans' and
^ F. von Luschan, loc. cit. p. 233. ^ Loc. cit. pp. 242-3.
^ Saba', Sheba of the Old Testament, where there are various allusions to its
wealth and trading importance from the tiifte of Solomon to that of Cyrus.
xiv] The Caucasic Peoples 499
the Minaeans^ stand out most clearly, though their dates and
even their chronological order are much disputed.
Possibly both lasted until the rise of the Himyar- Jj^J^* *"'' *''
ites at the beginning of the Christian era. All are
agreed however that Arabian civilisation reached a very high
level in the centuries preceding the birth of the Prophet, before
the increase ip shipping led to the abandonment of the cara-
van trade.
The modern inhabitants are divided into the Southern
Arabians, mainly settled agriculturalists of Yemen, Hadramaut
and Oman, who trace their descent from Shem, and the
Northern Arabians (Bedouin"), pastoral tribes, who trace
their descent from Ishmael. The two groups have even been
considered ethnologically distinct, but, as von Luschan points
out, "peninsular Arabia is the least-known land in the world,
and large regions "of it are even now absolutely terrae incog-
nitae, so great caution is necessary in forming conclusions, from
the measurements of a few dozens of men, concerning the an-
thropology of a land more than five times as great as France'."
His measurements of "the only real Semites, the Bedawy,"
gave a cephalic index ranging from 68 to 78, while the nose
was short and fairly broad, very seldom of a "Jewish type."
Recently Seligman* has shown that whereas the Semites of .
Northern Arabia conform more or less to the type just men-
tioned those of Southern Arabia are of low or median stature
(i "62-1 '65 m., 63f-65 in.), and are predominantly brachy-
cephalic, the cephalic index ranging from 71 to 92, with an
average of about 82.
Elsewhere — Iberia, Sicily, Malta', I rania, Central Asia, Ma-
laysia— the Arab invaders have failed to preserve either their
speech or their racial individuality. In some places (Spain,
Portugal, Sicily) they have disappeared altogether, leaving
nothing behind them beyond some slight linguistic traces, and
the monuments of their wonderful architecture, crumbling Al-
hambras or stiipendous mosques re-consecrated as Christian
temples. But in the eastern lands their influence is still felt by
' Ma'in of the inscriptions.
^ Arabic badawiy, a dweller in the desert.
^ Loc. cit. p. 235.
* C. G. Seligman, " The physical characters of the Arabs," Joiirn. Roy. Anthr.
/«j/. XLVii. 1917, p. 214 flf.
* The rude Semitic dialect still current in this island appears to be fundamentally
Phoenician (Carthaginian), later affected by Arabic and Italian influences. (M. Mizzi,
A Voice from Malta, i8q6, passim.)
32—2
500 Man : Past and Present [ch. xiv
multitudes, who profess Isldm and use the Arabic script in
writing their Persian, Turki, or Malay languages, because some
centuries ago those regions were swept by a tornado of rude
Bedouin fanatics, or else visited by peaceful traders and mis-
sionaries from the Arabian peninsula.
The monotheism proclaimed by these zealous preachers is
often spoken of as a special inheritance of the Semitic peoples,
or at least already possessed by them at such an
Monotheism. ^^""^Y Period in their life-history as to seem in-
separable from their very being. But it was not
so. Before the time of Allah or of Jahveh every hill-top had
its tutelar deity; the caves and rocks and the very atmosphere
swarmed with "jins"; Assyrian and Phoenician pantheons,
with their Baals, and Molochs, and Astartes and Adonais, were
as thickly peopled as those of the Hellenes and Hindus, and
in this, as in all other natural systems of belief, the monotheistic
concept was gradually evolved by a slow process of elimination.
Nor was the process perfected by all the Semitic peoples —
Canaanites, Assyrians, Amorites, Phoenicians, and others having
always remained at the polytheistic stage — but only by the
Hebrews and the Arabs, the two more richly endowed mem-
bers of the Semitic family. Even here a reservation has to
be made, for we now know that there was really but one
evolution, that of Jahveh, the adoption of the idea embodied
in Allah being historically traceable to the J ewish and Christian
systems. As Jastrow points out, the higher religious and
ethical movement began with Moses, who invested the national
Jahveh with ethical traits, thus paving the way for the wider
conceptions of the Prophets. "The point of departure in the
Hebrew religion from that of the Semitic in general did not
come until the rise of a body of men who set up a new ideal of
divine government of the universe, and with it as a necessary
corollary a new standard of religious conduct. Throwing agide
the barriers of tribal limitations to the jurisdiction of a deity,
it was the Hebrew Prophets who first prominently and em-
phatically brought forth the view of a divine power conceived
in spiritual terms, who, in presiding over the universe and in
controlling the fates of nations and individuals, acts from self-
imposed laws of righteousness tempered with mercy\"
' M. Jastrow, Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions, 1910.
CHAPTER XV
THE CAUCASIC PEOPLES {continued)
The Peoples of Aryan Speech— European Trade Routes—" Aryan " Migra-
tions— Indo-European Cradle— Indo-European Type — Date of Indo-European
Expansion — Origin of Nordic Peoples — The Cimbri and Teuloni—The
Bastaniae — The Moeso-Goths — Scandinavia — Modification of the Nordic Type
— The Celto-Slavs : Their Ethnical Position defined— Aberrant Tyrolese
Type — Rhaetians and Etruscans — Etruscan Origins — The Celts^Definitions —
Celts in Britain — The Picts — Brachycephals in Britain — Round Barrow Type —
Alpine Type — Ethnic Relations — Formation of the English Nation— Ethnic
Relations in Ireland — Scotland — and in Wales — Present Constitution of the
British Peoples — The English Language — The French Nation — Constituent
Elements — Mental Traits — The Spaniards and Portuguese — Ethnic Relations
in Italy — Ligurian, Ilfyrian, and Aryan Elements — The Present Italians —
Art and Ethics — The Rumanians — Ethnic Relations in Greece — The Hellenes
— Origins and Migrations — The Lithuanian Factor — Aeolians; Dorians j
lonians — The Hellenic Legend — The Greet Language — The Slavs — Origins
and Migrations — Sarmatians and Budini — Wends, Chekhs, and Poles — The
Southern Slavs — Migrations — Serbs, Croats, Bosnians — The Albanians — The
Russians — Panslavism — Russian Origins — Alans and Ossets — Aborigines of
the Caucasus — The Iranians — Ethnic and Linguistic Relations — Persians,
Tajiks and Galcha — Afghans — Lowland and Hill Tajiks — The Galchic Lin-
guistic Family — Galcha and Tajik Types — Homo Europaeus and H. Alpinus in
Central Asia — The Hindus — Ethnic Relations in India — Classification of
Types — The K6ls — The Dravidians — Dravidian and Aryan Languages — The
Hindu Castes — Oceania — Indonesians — Micronesians — Eastern Polynesians
— Origins, Types, and Divisions — Migrations — Polynesian Culture.
As the result of recent researches there is an end of the
theory that bronze came in with the " Aryans," and it is from
this standpoint that the revelation of an independent Aegean
culture in touch with Babylonia and Egypt some four millen-
niums before the new era is of such momentous import in
determining the ethnical relations of the historical, i.e. the
present European populations.
Some idea of cultured relations in prehistoric times may be
obtained from a review of the trade communications as in-
dicated by archaeology during the Bronze Age European
which lasted through the whole of the third Trade
millennium down to the middle of the second. Routes.
As we have seen, in the Nile valley, in Mesopotamia and in
the Aegean area, remains characteristic of Bronze Age culture
rest on a neolithic substratum, and a transitional stage, when
502 Man : Past and Present [ch.
gold and copper were the only metals known, often connects
the two. From the time of this dawning of the Age of Metals,
the inhabitants of the Nile Valley, of Crete, of Cyprus and of
the mainland of Greece freely exchanged their products.
Navigation was already flourishing, and the sea united rather
than divided the insular and coastal populations. Gradually
Egeo-Mykenaean civilisation extended froin Crete and the
Greek lands to the west, influencing Sicily directly, and
leaving distinct traces in Southern Italy, Sardinia and the
Iberian peninsula, while Iberia in its turn contributed to the
development of Western Gaul and the British Isles. The
knowledge of copper, and, soon after, that of bronze, spread
by the Atlantic route to Ireland, while Central Europe was
reached directly from the south. Thanks to the trade in amber,
always in demand by the Mediterranean populations, there
was a continuous trade route to Scandinavia, which thus had
direct communication with Southern Europe. As civilisation
developed, the lands of the north and west became exporters
as well as importers, each developing a distinct industry not
always inferior to the more precocious culture of the south \
With trade communications thus stretching across Europe
from south to north, and from east to extreme west, it would
seem not improbable that movements of peoples
Migrations. were equally unrestricted, and this would account
for the appearance on the threshold of history of
various peoples formerly grouped together on account of their
language, as'" Aryan." J. L. Myres, however, is inclined to
attribute " the coming of the North " to the same type of
climatic impulse which induced the Semitic swarms described
above (p. 489). After referring to the earliest occurrence of
Indo-European names^ he continues " Before the time of the
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt there had been a very exten-
sive raid of Indo-European-speaking folk by way of the Persian
plateau, as far as the Syrian coastland and the interior of Asia
Minor." These raids coincide with a new cultural feature of
great significance. "It is of the first importance to find that
it is in the dark period which immediately precedes the Eigh-
1 Cf. J. Ddchelette, Manuel d^archdologie prdhistorique. Vol. ll. 1910, p. 2, and
for neolithic trade routes, ib. Vol. I. p. 626.
''■ The Tell-el-Amarna correspondence contains names of chieftains in Syria and
Palestine about 1400 B.C., including the name of Tushratta, king of Mitanni ; the
Boghaz Keui document with Iranian divine names, and Babylonian records of Iranian
names from the Persian highlands, are a little later in date.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 503
teenth Dynasty revival — when Egypt was prostrate under
mysterious 'Shepherd Kings,' and Babylon under Kassite
invaders equally mysterious — that the civilized world first
became acquainted with one of the greatest blessings of civil-
isation, ■ the domesticated horse. The period of Arabian
drought, which drove forth the ' Canaanite ' emigrants, may
have had its counterpart on the northern steppe, to provoke
the migration of these horsemen." He adds, however, " our
knowledge both of the extent of these droughts and of the
chronology of both these migrations, is too vague for this to
be taken as more than a provisional basis for more exact
enquiry^"
The attempt has often been made to locate the original
home of the Indo-European people by an appeal to philology,
and idyllic pictures have been drawn up of the
" Aryan family " consisting of the father the pro- crtdi?'"'''*"
tector, the mother the producer, and the children
"whose name implied that they kept everything clean and
heat"," They were regarded as originally pastoral and later
agricultural, ranging over a wide area with Bactria for its
centre. With advancing knowledge of what is primitive in
Indo-European this circumstantial picture crumbled to pieces,
and Feist' reduces all inferences deducible from linguistic
palaeontology to the sole "argumentum ex silencio" (which
he regards as distinctly untrustworthy in itself), that the
" Urheimat " was a country in which in the middle of the third
millennium B.C. such southern animals as lion, elephant, and
tiger, were unknown. It was commonly assumed that the
"Aryan cradle" was in Asia, and the suggestion of R. G. La-
tham in 1 85 1 that the original home was in Europe was
scouted by one of the most eminent writers on the subject — ■
Victor Hehn — as lunacy possible only to one who lived in a
country of cranks^ But since this date, there has been a
shifting of the " Urheimat " further and further west.
O. Schrader^ places it in South Russia, G. Kossinna° and
H. Hirt" support the claims of Germany, while K. Penka and
1 J. L. Myres, The Dawn of History, 191 1, p. 200.
2 Cf. P. Giles, Art. "Indo-European Languages" in Ency. Brit. 191 1.
3 S. Feist, Kultur, Ausbreitung und Herkunft der Indogermanen, 1913, pp. 40
and 486-528.
* O. Schrader, Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte, 3rd ed. 1906-7.
6 G. Kossinna, Die Herkunft der Germanen, 191 1.
* H. Hirt, Die Indogermanen, ihre Verbreitung, ihre Urheimat und ikre Kultur,
1905-7.
504 Man : Past and Present [ch.
many others go still further north, deriving both language and
tall fair dolichocephalic speakers (proto-Teutons) from Scan-
dinavia\
F. Kauffmann'', noting the contrast between the cultures
associated with pre-neolithic and.with neolithic kitchen-middens,
is prepared to attribute the former to aboriginal inhabitants,
Ligurians, and, further north, Kvaens (Finns, Lapps), and the
neolithic civilisation of Europe to Indo-Europeans. " Thus
the heolithic Indo-Europeans would already have advanced as
far as South Sweden in the Litorina period of the Baltic, during
the oak-period."
On the other hand the discovery of Tocharish has inclined
E. Meyer' to reconsider an Asiatic origin, but the information
as to this language is too- fragmentary to be conclusive on this
point. After reviewing the various theories Gile^^ concludes
" in the great plain which extends across Europe north of the
Alps and Carpathians and across Asia north of the Hindu
Kush there are few geographical obstacles to prevent the rapid
spread of peoples from any part of its area to any other, and",
as we have seen, the Celts and the Hungarians etc. have in the
historical period demonstrated the rapidity with which such
migrations could be made. Such migrations may possibly
account for the appearance of a people using a centum language
so far east as Turkestan ^"
More acrimonious than the discussion of the original home
is the dispute as to the original physical type of the Indo-Euro-
pean-speaking; people. It was almost a matter of
TnHn Piirnnpati Oil
Type i2\X}!\ with Germans that the language was in-
troduced by tall fair dolichocephals of Nordic
type. On the other hand the Gallic school sought to identify
the Alpine race as the only and original Aryans. The futility
of the whole discussion is ably demonstrated by W. Z. Ripley
in his protest against the confusion of language and race^
Feist' summarisesour information as follows. All that we can say
1 S. Feist, Kultur, Ausbreitung und Herkuhft der'Indogermanen, 1913, pp. 40
and 486-528.
2 Deutsche Altertutriskunde, I. 1913, p. 49. ' See Note 3, p. 441 above.
* Art. "Indo-European Languages," Ency. Brit. 191 1, p. 500.
' Centum (hard guttural) group is the name applied to the Western and entirely
European branches of the Indo-European family, as opposed to the satem (sibilant)
group, situated mainly in Asia.
° The Races of Europe, 1900, p. 17 and chap. XVll. European origins : Race
and Language : The Aryan Question.
' S. Feist, Kultur, Ausbreitung und Herkunft der Indogermanen, 1913, pp. 497,
501 ff.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 505
about the physical type of the " Urvolk " is that since the Indo-
Europeans came from a northerly region' (not yet identified)
it is surmised that they belonged to the light-skinned people.
The observation that mountain folk of Indo-Germanic speech
in southern areas, such as the Ossets of the Caucasus, the
Kurds of the uplands of Armenia and Irania, and the Tajiks
of the western Pamirs not infrequently exhibit fair hair or blue
eyes supports this view. Nevertheless, as he points out,
brachycephals are not hereby excluded. His own conclusion,
which naturally results from a review of the whole evidence,
is that the " Urvolk" was not a pure race, but a mixture of
different types. Already in neolithic times races in Europe
were no longer pure, and in France "formed an almost inex-
tricable medley" and Feist assumes with E. de Michelis" that
the I ndo- Europeans were a conglomerate of peoples of different
origins who in prehistoric times were welded together into an
ethnic unity, as the present English have been formed from
pre- 1 ndo- European Caledonians (Picts and Scots), Celts,
Roman traders and soldiers and later Teutonic settlers*.
The evidence that Indo-Europeans were already in exist-
ence in Mesopotamia, Syria and Irania about the middle of
the second millennium B.C. has already been Date of
mentioned. About the same time the Vedic Indo-European
hymns bear witness to the appearance of the expansion.
Aryans of Western India. The formation of an Aryan group
with a common language, religion and culture is a process
necessarily requiring considerable length of time, so that their
swarming off from the Indo-European parent group must be
pushed back to far into the third millennium. At this period
there are indications of the settling of the Greeks in the
southern promontories of the Balkan peninsula at latest about
2000 B.C., while Thracikn and Illyrian peoples may have filled
the mainland, though the Dorians occupied Epirus, Macedonia,
and perhaps Southern lUyri'a. Indo-European stocks were
already in occupation of Centra! Italy. It would appear there-
fore that the period of the Indo-European community, before
the migrations, must be placed at the end of the Stone Ages,
at the time when copper was first introduced. Thus it seems
■ 1 Cf. T. Rice Holmes, Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, p. 273.
2 E. de Michelis, Lori^ine degli Jndo-Europei, 1905.
3 Even Sweden, regarded as the home of the purest Nordic type, already had a
brachycephalic mixture in the Stone Age. See G. Retzius, " The So-called North
European Race of Mankind," /''«''«• Roy. Anthrop. Inst, xxxix. 1909, p. 364.
5o6 Man : Past and Present [ch.
legitimate to infer that the expansion of the I ndo- Europeans
began about 2500 b.c. and the furthest advanced branches
entered into the regions of the older populations and cultures
at latest after the beginning of the second millennium^ About
1000 B.C. we find three areas occupied by Indo-European-
speaking peoples, all widely separated from each other and
apparently independent. These are.(i) the Aryan groups in
Asia ; (2) the Balkan peninsula together with Central and
Lower Italy, and the Mysians and Phrygians of Asia Minor
(possibly the Thracians had already advanced across the
Danube) ; and (3) Teutons, Celts and Letto-Slavs over the
greater part of Germany and Scandinavia, perhaps also already
in Eastern France and in Poland. The following centuries saw
the advance of Iranians to South Russia and further west, the
pressing of the Phrygians into Armenia, and lastly the Celtic
migrations in Western Europe.
From the linguistic and botanical evidence brought forward
by the Polish botanist Rostafinski^ the ancestors of the Celts,
Origin of the Germans and Balto-Slavs must have occupied a
Nordic region north of the Carpathians, and west of a line
Peoples. between Konigsberg and Odessa (the beech and
yew zone). The Balto-Slavs subsequently lost the word for
beech and transferred the word for yew to the sallow and black
alder (both with red wood) but their possession of a word for
hornbeam locates their original home in Polesie — the marsh-
land traversed by the Pripet but not south or east of Kiev.
Although, owing to the absence of Teutonic inscriptions
before the third or fourth century a.d. it is difficult to trace the
Nordic peoples with any certainty during the Bronze or Early
Iron Ages, yet the fairly well-defined group of Bronze Age
antiquities, covering the basin of the Elbe, Mecklenburg,
Holstein, Jutland, Southern Sweden "and the islands of the
Belt have been conjectured with much probability to represent
early Teutonic civilisation. " Whether we are justified in
speaking of a Teutonic race in the anthropological sense is at
least doubtful, for the most striking characteristics of these
peoples [as deduced from prehistoric skeletons, descriptions of
ancient writers and present day statistics] occur also to a con-
siderable extent among their eastern and western neighbours,
' Cf. !§;. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, 1909, 1. 2, § 551.
^ For the working out of this hypothesis see T. Peisker, " The Expansion of the
Slavs," Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. II. 1913.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 507
where they can hardly be ascribed altogether to Teutonic
admixture. The only result of anthropological investigation
which so far can be regarded as definitely established is that
the old Teutonic lands in Northern Germany, Denmark and
Southern Sweden have been inhabited by people of the same
type since the neolithic age if not eariier'." This type is
characterised by tall stature, long narrow skull, light complexion
with light hair and eyes".
During the age of national migrations, from the fourth to
the sixth century, the territories of the Nordic peoples were
vastly extended, partly by conquest, and partly
by arrangement with the Romans. But these IfaSoni.
movements had begun before the new era, for we
hear of the Cimbri invading Illyricum, Gaul and Italy in the
second century b.c. probably from Jutland', where they were
apparently associated with the Teutoni. Still earlier, in the
third century B.C., the Bastarnae, said by many ancient writers
to have been Teutonic in origin, invaded and
settled between the Carpathians and the Black I'^^
o A1 1 • iii<-iii<^i Bastarnae.
bea. Already mentioned doubtfully by Strabo
as separating the Germani from the Scythians (Tyragetes)
about the Dniester and Dnieper, their movements may now
be followed by authentic documents from the Baltic to the
Euxine. Furtwangler* shows that the earliest known German
figures are those of the Adamklissi monument, in the Dobruja,
commemorating the victory of Crassus over the Bastarnae,
Getae, and Thracians in 28 B.C. The Bastarnae migrated before
the Cimbri and Teutons through the Vistula valley to the
Lower Danube about 200 b.c. They had relations with the
Macedonians, and the successes of Mithridates over the
Romans were due to their aid. The account of their overthrow
by Crassus in Dio Cassius is in striking accord with the scenes
on the Adamklissi monument. Here they appear dressed only
' H. M. Chadwick, Art. "Teutonic Peoples" in Ency. Brit. 191 1. Cf. S. Feist,
Kultur, Ausbreiiung und Herkunft der Indogermanen, 1913, p. 480.
2 See R. Much, Art. "Germanen," J. Hoops' Reallexikon d. Germ. Altertums-
kunde, 1 9 14.
3 H. M. Chadwick, The Origin of the English Nation, 1907, pp. 210-215. Foi*
a full account of the affinities of the Cimbri and Teutoni see T. Rice Holmes,
Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, pp. 546-553.
* Paper read at the Meeting of the Ger. Anthrop. Soc, Spiers, 1896. Figures
of Bastarnae from the Adamklissi monument and elsewhere are reproduced in
H. Hahne's Das Vorgeschichtliche Europa: Ktilturen und Volker, 1910, figs. 144,
149. Cf. T. Peisker, "The Expansion of the Slavs," Camb. Med. Hist. Vol. 11. 1913,
p. 430.
So8 Man : Past and Present [ch.
in a kind of /trowsers, with long pointed beards, and defiant
but noble features. The same type recurs both on the column
of Trajan, who engaged them as auxiliaries in his Dacian wars,
and on the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, here however wearing a
tunic, a sign perhaps of later Roman influences. And thus
after 2000 years are answered Strabo's doubts by modern
archaeology.
Much later there followed along the same beaten track
between the Baltic and Black Sea a section of the Goths,
whom we find first settled in the Baltic lands in
Gotiis. °^^°' proximity to the Finns. The exodus from this
region can scarcely have taken place before the
second century of the new era, for they are still unknown to
Strabo, while Tacitus locates them on the Baltic between the
Elbe and the Vistula. Later Cassiodorus and others bring
them from Scandinavia to the Vistula, and up that river to" the
Euxine and Lower Danube. Although often regarded as
legendary', this migration is supported by archaeological
evidence. In 1837 a gold torque with a Gothic inscription was
found at Petroassa in Wallachia, and in 1858 an iron spear-
head with a Gothic name in the same script, which dates from
the first Iron Age, turned up near Kovel in Volhynia. The
spear-head is identical with one found in 1865 at Munchenberg
in Brandenburg, on which Wimmer remarks that "of 15 Runic
inscriptions in Germany the two earliest occur on iron pikes.
There is no doubt that the runes of the Kovel spear-head and
of the ring came from Gothic tribes^" These Southern Goths,
later called Moeso-Goths, because they settled in Moesia
(Bulgaria and Servia), had certain physical and even moral
characters of the Old Teutons, as seen in the Emperor Maxi-
minus, born in Thrace of a Goth by an Alan woman — very
tall, strong, handsome, with light hair and milk-white skin',
temperate in all things and of great mental energy.
Before their absorption in the surrounding Bulgar and Slav
populations the Moeso-Goths were evangelised in the fourth
century by their bishop Ulfilas ("Wolf"), whose fragmentary
translation of Scripture, preserved in the Codex Argenteus of
Upsala, is the most precious monument of early Teutonic
speech extant.
■^ Cf. H. M. Chadwick, The Origin of the English Nation, 1907, PP- 174 and 219.
^ Monuments runiques in Mdm. Soc. R. Ant. du Nord, 1893.
' " Lactea cutis " (Sidonius ApoUinaris).
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 509
To find the pure Nordic type at the present day we must
seek for it in Scandinavia, which possesses one of the most
highly individualised populations in Europe. The
Osterdal, and the neighbourhood of Vaage in S'=*"*''°^^**'
Upper Gudbrandsdal in Norway, and the Dalarna district in
Sweden contain perhaps the purest Teutonic type in all
Europe, the cephalic index falling well below 78. But along
the Norwegian coasts there is a strong tendency to brachy-
cephaly (the index rising to 82-3), combined with a darkening
of the hair and eye colour (the type occurs also in Denmark),
indicating an outlying lodgement of the Alpine race from
Central Europe. The anthropological history of Scandinavia,
according to Ripley, is as follows : "Norway has. . .probably been
peopled from two directions, one element coming from Sweden
and another from the south by way of Denmark. The latter
type, now found on the sea coast and especially along the least
attractive portion of it, has been closely hemmed in by the
Teutonic immigration from Sweden\" Brachycephalic people
already occupied parts of Denmark in the Stone Age'', and,
according to the scanty information available, the present
population is extremely mixed. One-third of the children
have light hair and light eyes, and tall stature coincides in the
main with fair colouring, but in Bornholm where the cephalic
index is 80 there is a taller dark type and a shoifter light type,
the latter perhaps akin to the Eastern variety of the Alpine
race^
The original Nordic type is by no means universally
represented among the present Germanic peoples. From the
examination made some years ago of 6,758,000 Modification
school children^ it would appear that about 3 1 per of the Nor-
cent. of living Germans may be classed as blonds, ^^ '^r?^-
14 as brunettes, and 55 as mixed ; and further that of the
blonds about 43 per cent, are centred in North, 33 in Central
and 24 in South Germany. The brunettes increase, generally
» W. Z. Ripley, The Races of, Europe, 1900, p. 205 ff. See also O. Montelius,
Kulturgeschichte Schwedens, 190$; G. Retzius and C. M. Fiirst, Anthrepologica
Suedca, 1902. . , . ,
2 Commonly called the Borreby type from skulls found at Borreby m the island
of Falster, which resemble Round Barrow skulls in Britain.
3 For Denmark consult Meddelelser om Danmarks Antropologi udgivne af den
Antropologisfee Komit6, with EngUsh summaries, Bd. I. 1907-1911, Bd. II. 1913.
♦ The results were tabulated by Virchow and may be seen, without going to
German sources, in W. Z. Ripley's map, p. 322, of The Races of Europe, 1900, where
the whole question is fully dealt with.
5IO Man: Past and Present [ch,
speaking, southwards, South Bavaria showing only about
14 per cent, of blonds, and the same law holds good of the
long-heads and the round-heads respectively. To what cause
is to be attributed this profound modification of this branch of
the Nordic type in the direction of the south ?
That the Teutons ranged in considerable numbers far
beyond their northern seats is proved by the spread of the
German language to the central highlands, and beyond them
down the southern slopes, where a rude High German dialect
lingered on in the so-called " Seven Communes " of the
Veronese district far into the nineteenth century. But after
passing the Main, which appears to have long formed the
ethnical divide for Central Europe, they entered the zone of
the broWn Alpine round-heads\ to whom they communicated
their speech, but by whom they were largely modified in
physical appearance. The process has for long ages been
much the same everywhere — perennial streams of Teutonism
setting steadily from the north, all successively submerged in
the great ocean of dark round-headed humanity, which under
many names has occupied the central uplands and eastern plains
since the Neolithic Age,, overflowing also in later times into
the Balkan Peninsula.
This absorption of what is assumed to be the superior in
the inferior type, may be due to the conditions of the general
movement— warlike bands, accompanied by few women, ap-
pearing as conquerors in the midst of the Alpines and merging
with them in the great mass of brachycephalic peoples. Or is the
transformation to be explained by de Lapouge's doctrine, that
cranial forms are not so much a question of race as of social
conditions, and that, owing to the increasingly unfavourable
nature of these conditions, there is a general tendency for the
superior long-heads to be absorbed in the inferior round-heads I
The fact that dolichocephaly is more prevalent in cities and
brachycephaly in rural areas has been interpreted in various
ways. De Lapoiige* contended thatjn France the restless and
^ See Ripley's Craniological chart in " Une carte de I'Indice Cdphalique en
Europe," E Anthropologie, Vll. 1896, p. 513.
2 The case is stated in uncompromising language by 'Alfred Fouill^e ; " Une
autre loi, plus g^ndralement admise, c'est que depuis les temps prdhistoriques, les
brachyc^phales tendent k eliminer les dolichocdphales par I'invasion progressive des
couches inferieures' et Tabsorption des aristocraties dans les ddmocraties, cm elles
viennent se noyer" {Rev. des Deux Mondes, March 15, 1895).
^ Recherches Anthrop. sur le Problime de la Depopulation, in Rev. d'iconomie
politique, ix. p. 1002 ; x. p. 132 (1895-6).
-^^^v] The Caucasic Peoples 5 1 1
more enterprising long-heads migrated from the rural districts
in disproportionate numbers to the towns, where they died out.
For the department of Aveyron he gives a table showing a
steady rise of the cephalic index from 7 1 "4 in prehistoric times
to 86-5 in 1899, and attributes this to the dolichos gravitating
chiefly to the large towns, as O. Ammon has also shown for
Baden. L. Laloy summed up the results thus :' France is being
depopulated, and, what is worse, it is precisely the best section
of the inhabitants that disappears, the section most productive
in eminent men in all departments of learning, while the
ignorant and xwA^pecus alone increase.
These views have met with favour even across the Atlantic,
but are by no means universally accepted. The ground seems
cut from the whole theory by A. Macalister, who read a paper at
the Toronto Meeting of the British Association, 1897, on
" The Causes of Brachycephaly," showing that the infantile
and primitive skull is relatively long, and that there is a gradual
change, phylogenetic (racial) as well as ontogenetic (individual)
toward brachycephaly, which is certainly correlated with, and
is apparently produced by, cerebral activity and growth ; in the
process of development in the individual and the race the
frontal lobes of the brain grow the more rapidly and tend to
fill out and broaden the skulP. The tendency woul4 thus
have nothing to do with rustic and urban life, nor would the
round be necessarily, if at all, inferior to the long head. Some '
of de Lapouge's generalisations are also traversed by Livi^
Deniker^ Sergi* and others, and the whole question is admir-
ably summarised by W. Z. Ripley'.
But whatever be the cause, the fact must be accepted that
1 Nature, 1897, p. 487. Cf. also A. Thomson, "Consideration of.. .factors con-
cerned in production of Man's Cranial Form," Journ. Anthr. Inst, xxxill. 1903,
and A. Keith, "The Bronze Age Invaders of Britain," />'«''»• Roy- Anthr, Inst. XLV.
1915.
^ Livi's results for Italy {Antropometria Militare) differ in some respects from
those of de Lapouge and Ammon for France and Baden. Thus he finds that in the
brachy districts the urban population is less brachy than the rural, while in the
dolicho districts the towns are more brachy than the plains.
3 Dealing with some studies of the Lithuanian race, Deniker writes : " Ainsi
done, contrairement aux iddes de MM. de Lapouge et Ammon, en Pologne,
comme d'ailleurs en Italie, les classes les plus instruites, dirigeantes, urbaines, sont
plus brachy que lespaysans"(Z'^«//5rsi>c/o^>, 1896, p. 351). Similar contradictions
occur in connection with light and dark hair, eyes, etc.
* " E qui non posso tralasciare di avvertire un errore assai diffuso fra gli antro-
pologi...i quali vorrebbero ammettere una trasformazione del cranio da dolicocefalo
in brac'liicefalo" [Arii e Italici, p. 155).
6 W. Z. Ripley's The Races of Europe, 1900, p. 544 ff.
512 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Homo Europaeus (the Nordics) becomes merged southwards
in Homo Alpinus whose names, as stated, are many. Broca
and many continental writers use the name Kelt
Slavs^^'*°" *-"" Slavo-Kelt, which has led to much confusion.
But it merely means for them the great mass
of brachycephalic peoples in Central Europe, where, at various
times, Celtic and Slavonic languages have prevailed.
It is remarkable that in the Alpine region, especially Tyrol,
where the brachy element comes to a focus, there is a peculiar
form of round-head which has greatly puzzled de
Tyroiese Type Lapouge, but may perhaps be accounted for on
the hypothesis of two brachy types here fused in
one. To explain the exceedingly round Tyroiese head, which
shows affinities on the one hand with the Swiss, on the other
with the Illyrian and Albanian, thait is, with the normal Alpine;
a Mongol strain has been suggested, but is rightly rejected by
Franz Tappeiner as inadmissible on many grounds'. De
Ujfalvy^ a follower of de Lapouge, looks on
and^Etrascans ^^ hyperbrachy Tyroiese as descendants of the
ancient Rhaetians or Rasenes, whom so many
regard as the parent stock of the Etruscans.
But Montelius (with most other modern ethnologists) rejects
the lajid route from the north, and brings the Etruscans by
the sea route direct from the Aegean and Lydia.(Asia Minor).
They are the Thessalian Pelasgians whom Hellanikos of
Lesbos brings to Campania, or the Tyrrhenian Pelasgians
transported by Antiklides from Asia Minor to Etruria, and he
is " quite sure that the archaeological facts in Central and North
Italy... prove the truth of this tradition'." Of course, until the
affinities of the Etruscan language are determined, from which
^ This specialist insists "dass von einer mongolischen Einwanderung in Europa
keine Rede mehr sein konne " {Der eurapaische Mensch. u. die Tiraler, 1896). He
is of course speaking of prehistoric times, not of the late (historical) Mongol irrup-
tions. Cf. T. Peisker, "The Expansion of the Slavs," Camb. Med. Hist. Vol. 11.
1913, p. 452, with reference to mongoloid traits in Bavaria.
2 " Malgr^ les nombreuses invasions des populations germaniques, le Tyrolien
est rest^, quant k sa conformation cranienne, le Rasfene ou Rhsetien des ten^s
antiques — hyperbrachycdphale " {Les Aryens, p. 7). The mean index of the so-called
Disentis type of Rhaetian skulls is about 86 (His and Riitimeyer, Crania Helvetica,
p. 29 and Plate E. i).
3 "The Tyrrhenians in Greece and Italy," vajoum. Anthrop. Inst. 1897, p. 258.
In this splendidly illustrated paper the date of the immigration is referred to the
nth century B.c. on the ground that the first Etruscan saeculum was considered as
beginning about 1050 B.C., presumably the date of their arrival in Italy (p. 259).
But Sergi thinks they did not arrive till about the end of the 8th century (Arii e
Italici, p. 149).
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 513
we are still as far off as ever\ Etruscan origins must remain
chiefly an archaeological question. Even the
help afforded by the crania from the Etruscan q^^^^
tombs is but slight, both long and round heads
being here found in the closest association. Sergi, who also
brings the Etruscans from the east, explains this by supposing
that, being Pelasgians, they were of the same dolicho Medi-
terranean stock as the Italians (Ligurians) themselves, and
differed only from the brachy Umbrians of Aryan speech.
Hence the skulls from the tombs are of two types, the intruding
Aryan, and the Mediterranean, the latter, whether representing
native Ligurians or intruding Etruscans, being indistinguish-
able. " I can show," he says, " Etruscan crania, which differ
in no respect from the Italian [Ligurian], from the oldest
graves, as I can also show heads from the Etruscan graves
which do not differ from those still found in Aryan lands,
whether Slav, Keltic, or Germanic'." Perhaps the difficulty
is best explained by Feist's suggestion that the Etruscans
were merely a highly civilised warlike aristocracy, spreading
thinly over the conquered population by which they were
ultimately absorbed'.
The migrations of the Celts preceded those of the
Teutonic peoples to whom they were probably closely related
in race as in language*. At the beginning of _, „ .
the historical period Celts are found in the west
of Germany in the region of the Rhine and the Weser. Possibly
about 600 B.C. they occupied Gaul and parts of the Iberian
peninsula, subsequently crossing over into the British Isles.
In Italy they came into conflict with the rising power of Rome,
and, after the battle of the AUia (390 b.c.) occupied Rome
itself. Descents were also made into the Danube valley and the
Balkans-, and later (280 b.c.) into Thessaly. At the height of
their power they extended from the north of Scotland to the
southern shores of Spain and Portugal, and from the northern
coasts of Germany to a little south of Senegaglia. To the
> See R. S. Conway, Art. Etruria: Language, Ency. Brit. 191 1.
2 Op. cit. p. 151. By German he means the round-headed South German.
3 S. Feist, Kultur, Ausbreitung und Herkunft der Indogermanen, 1913,
P- 370.
* S. Feist, loc. cit. p. 65. For cultural and linguistic influence of Celts on Germans
see pp. 480 ff. Evidence of Celtic names in Germany is discussed by H. M.
Chadwick " Some German River names," Essays and Studies presented to William
Ridgeway, 1913.
K. 33
514 Man: Past and Present [ch.
west their boundary was the Atlantic, to the east, the Black
Sea\
Unfortunately the indiscriminate use of the term Celt has
led to much confusion. For historians and geographers the
Celts are the people in the centre and west of
" (feif'°" °^ Europe referred to by writers of antiquity under
the names of Keltoi, Celtae, Galli and Galatae.
But many anthropologists, especially on the continent, regard
Celts and Gauls as representing two well-determined physical
types, the former brachycephalic, with short sturdy build and
chestnut coloured hair (Alpine type), and the latter dolicho-
cephalic with tall stature, fair complexion and light hair (Nordic
type). Linguists, ignoring physical characters, class as Celts
those people who speak an Indo-European language character-
ised in particular by the loss of p and by the modifications
undergone by mutation of initial consonants, while for many
archaeologists the Celts were the people responsible for the
spread of the civilisation of the Hallstatt and La Tene periods,
that is ,of the earlier and later Iron Age''.
It is not surprising therefore that it has been proposed to
drop the word Celt out of anthropological momenclature, as
having no ethnical significance. But this, says Rice Holmes^
"is because writers on ethnology have not kept their heads
clear." And in particular one point has been overlooked.
"Just as the French are called after one conquering people,
the Franks ; just as the English are called after one conquering
people, the Angles ; so the heterogeneous Celtae of Transalpine
Gaul were called after one conquering people ; and that people
were the Celts, or rather a branch of the Celts in the true
sense of the word. The Celts, in short, were the people who
introduced the Celtic language into Gaul, into Asia Minor,
and into Britain ; the people who included the victors of the
Allia, the conquerors of Gallia Celtica, and the conquerors of
' H. d'Arbois de Jubainville, Les Celtes depuis les Temps lesplus anciensjusqiien
fan 100 avani noire ere, 1904, p. i.
^ G. Dottin, Manuel pour servir d. Vdtude de VAntiquitd Celtique, 191 5, p. i.
' T. Rice Holmes, Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, 191 1, p. 321. W. Z. Ripley, The
Races of Europe, 1900, reviewing the " Celtic Question, than which no greater stum-
bling-block in the way of our clear thinking exists" (p. 124) comes to a different
conclusion. He states that "the term Celt, if used at all, belongs to the... brachy-
cephalic, darkish population of the Alpine highlands," and he claims for this view
"complete unanimity of opinion among physical anthropologists" (p. 126). His
own view however is that "the linguists are best entitled to the name Celt" while
the broad-headed type commonly called Celtic by continental writers "we shall...
everywhere. ..call. ..Alpine" (p. 128).
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 515
Gallia Belgica ; the people whom Polybius called indifferently
Gauls and Celts ; the people who, as Pausanius said, were
originally called Celts and afterwards called Gauls. If certain
ancient writers confounded the tall fair Celts who spoke Celtic
with the tall fair Germans who spoke German the ancient
writers who were better informed avoided such a mistake. . . .
Let us therefore restore to the word ' Celt ' the ethnical signi-
ficance which of right belongs to it."
It is not certain at what date the Celtic tribes effected
settlements in Great Britain, but it is held by many that the
earliest invasions were not prior to the sixth or
possibly even the fifth century. At the time of BritLn"
the Roman conquest the Celts were divided into
two linguistic groups, Goidelic, represented at the present day
by Irish, Manx and Scotch Gaelic, and Brythonic, including
Welsh, Cornish and Breton. These groups must have been
virtually identical save in two particulars. In Brythonic the
labial velar q became p (a change which apparently took place
before the time of Pytheas), whilst in Goidelic the sound
remained unaltered, q is retained in the earlier ogham inscrip-
tions, but by the end of the seventh century it had lost the
labial element, appearing in Old Irish as c. Thus O. Irish
cenn, head, as in Kenmare, Kintyre, Kinsale, equates with
Brythonic pen, as in Penryn (Cornwall), Penrhyn (Wales),
Penkridge (Staffordshire), Penruddock, Penrith and many
others. The two groups are therefore distinguished as the Q
Celts and the P Celts'. From the fact that Goidelic retained
the q it has been commonly assumed that the Goidels were
separated from the main Celtic stock at a time before the
labialisation had taken place, but many scholars maintain that
the parent Goidelic was evolved ia Ireland, and was carried
from that island to Man and Scotland in the early centuries of
our era^
From an anthropological point of view, the Picts are if
possible more difficult to identify than the Celts. But the
question is not between tall fair long-heads and ^^^ p.^^^
short dark round-heads, but between short dark
long-heads (neolithic aborigines) and Celts. The Pictish
1 Cf. the similar dual treatment in Italic.
2 " No Gael \i.e. Q Celt] ever set his foot on British soil save on a vessel that
had put out from Ireland." Kuno Meyer, Trans. Hon. Soc. Cymmrodorion, 1895-6,
p. 69.
33—2
5i6 Man: Past and Present [ch.
question is summed up by Rice Holmes' and the various
theories have been more recently reviewed by Windisch^ giving
a valuable summary of earlier writings. On the one hand
it is maintained as " the most tenable hypothesis that the
Picts were non-Aryans, whom the first Celtic migrations
found already settled here... descendants of the Aborigines'."
Windisch^ at the other extreme, regards them as late comers
into North Britain, when Scotland was already occupied by
Brythonic tribes. But the geographical distribution of the
Picts in historical times suggests rather a people driven into
mountainous regions by successive conquerors, than the
settlements of successful invaders. Also it is not improbable
that the language of the Bronze Age lingered in these wilder
districts, and this would account for the fact that St Columba
had to employ an interpreter in his relations with the Picts ;
though this is explained by others on the assumption that
Pictish was Brythonic. The linguistic evidence is however
extremely slight, only a few words presumably Pictish having
survived and these through Celtic writers. " The one abso-
lutely certain conclusion to which the student of ethnology
can come is that the name of the Picts has not been proved to
be of pre-Aryan origin*." " For me," continues Rice Holmes
(p. 417), "the Picts were a mixed people comprising descend-
ants of the neolithic aborigines, of the Round Barirow Race,
and of the Celtic invaders — a mixed people who [or at least
whose aristocracy] spoke a Celtic dialect."
Before attempting a survey of the ethnology of Britain it
is necessary to ascertain what ethnic elements the area
contained before the arrival of the Celts. The
KSa''*'^ neolithic inhabitants, the short, dark dolicho-
cephals of Mediterranean type have already been
described (Ch. XHI.). Their remains are associated with the
characteristic forms of sepulchral monuments the dolmens and
the long barrows. But towards the end of the Stone Age a
brachycephalic race was already penetrating into the islands.
This appears to have been a peaceful infiltration, at any rate
in certain districts, where remains of the two types are found
1 Ancient Britain, 1907, pp. 409-424.
^ Das keltische Britannien, 191 2, pp. 28-37.
' J. Rhys, The Welsh People, 1902, pp. 13-14.
* Ancient Britain, I'piT, p. 414. The name of the Picts is apparently Indo-
European in form, and if the Celts were late comers into Britain (see above) they
may well have been preceded by invaders of Indo-European speech.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 517
side by side and there is evidence of racial intermixture. The
brachycephals introduced a new form of sepulture, making
their burial mounds circular instead of elongated, whence
Thurnam's convenient formula, "long barrow, long skull;
round barrow, round skull." But the earlier view that there
was a definite transition from long heads, neolithic culture and
long barrows, to round heads, bronze culture and round barrows
can no longer be maintained. "It is often taken for granted
that no round barrows were erected in Britain before the close
of the Neolithic Age, and that the earliest of the brachy-
cephalic invaders whose remains have been found in them
landed with bronze weapons in their hands'." But there is
abundant evidence that the brachycephalic element preceded
the knowledge of metals, and a number of round barrows in
Yorkshire and further north show no trace of bronze.
Nevertheless the majority of the round barrows belong to
the Bronze Age, and the physical type of their builders is
sufficiently well marked. The stature is remark-
ably tall, attaining a height of 1763 m. or over ?^f ^^""'^
5 ft. 9 ins. The skull is brachycephalic with
an average index of about 80. It is also characterised by great
strength and ruggedness of outline, with (often) a sloping
forehead, prominent supraciliary ridges, and a certain degree
of prognathism.
According to Rolleston's description " The eyebrows must
have given a beetling and probably even formidable appearance
to the upper part of the face, whilst the boldly outstanding and
heavy cheekbones must have produced an impression of raw
and rough strength. Overhung at its root, the nose must
have projected boldly forward." And Thurnam adds "the
prominence of the large incisor and canine teeth is so great as
to give an almost bestial expression to the skulP."
Although this type is conveniently called the Round
Barrow type, or even the Round Barrow Race, the round
barrows also contain remains of a different racial .
character. The skull form shows a more extreme ^^'
brachycephaly, with an index of 84 or 85, and exhibits none
of the rugged features associated with the true Round Barrow
type. On the contrary, of the two typical groups, one from
1 T. Rice Holmes, Ancient Britain, 1907, p. 408. Cf. A. Keith, "The Bronze
Age Invaders of Britain," y^'''^- R°y- Anthr. Inst. XLV. 1915.
2 Quoted in T. Rice Holmes, Ancient Britain, 1907, pp. 426-427,
5i8 Man : Past and Present [ch.
round barrows in Glamorganshire, and the other from short
cists in Aberdeenshire not one of the skulls is prognathous,
the supraciliary ridges are but slightly developed, the cheek
bones are not prominent, the face is both broad and short and
the lower jaw is small. But the greatest contrast is in the
height, which averages in the two groups, i "664 m. and i "6 m.
respectively, i.e. 5 ft. 5^ ins. and 5 ft. 3 ins. All these characters
connect this type closely with the Alpine type on the
continent.
These round-headed peoples have been the subject of much
discussion ably summarised and criticised by Rice Holmes,
whose conclusion perhaps best represents the view now taken
of their affinities and origins.
" The great mistake that has been made in discussing the
question is the not uncommon assumption that the brachy-
cephalic immigrants who buried their dead in round barrows
arrived in Britain at one time, and came from one place. Some
of them certainly appeared before the end of the Neolithic
Age : others may have introduced bronze implements ,or
ornaments ; others doubtless came, in successive hordes, during
the course of the Bronze Age. Some of those who belonged
to the Grenelle race [Alpine type], who certainly came from
Eastern Europe and possibly from' Asia, and whose centre of
dispersion was the Alpine region, may have started from
Gaul ; others could have traced their origin to some Rhenish
tribe ; and I am inclined to believe that those who belonged
to the characteristic rugged Round Barrow type crossed over,
for the most part, from Denmark or the out-lying islands^"
After the passage of the Romans, who mingled little with
the aborigines and made, perhaps, but slight impression on the
Formation of speech or type of the British populations, a great
the English transformation was effected in these respects by
Nation. ^^ arrival of the historical Teutonic tribes. Hand
in hand with the Teutonic invasions went a lust for expansion
on the part of the peoples in Ireland. Settlements were effected
by them in South Wales and Anglesey, the Isle of Man and
1 T. Rice Holmes, Ancient BHtain, 1907, p. 443. See also John Abercromby,
A Study of the Bronze Age Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland and its associated
Grave Goods, 1912, tracing the distribution and migration of pottery forms ; and the
. following papers of H. J. Fleure, "Archaeological Problems of the West Coast of
Britain," Archaeologia Cambrensis, Oct. 191 5 ; "The Early Distribution of Popula-
tion in South Britam," ib. April, 1916; "The Geographical Distribution of Anthro-
pological Types in Wales," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLVI. 1916, and " A Proposal
for Local Surveys of the British People," Arch. Camb. Jan. 1917.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples . 519
Argyll, probably also in North Devon and Cornwall. For
many generations the south and east of England were the
scenes of fierce struggles, during which the Romano- British
civilisation perished. Only in more inaccessible districts, such
as the fen country, may a British population have survived,
though Celtic languages are not yet dislodged from their
mountain strongholds in Wales and Scotland, and lingered for
many centuries in Strathclyde and Cornwall. After the
strengthening of the Teutonic element by the arrival of the
Scandinavians and Normans, all very much of the same
physical type, no serious accessions were made to this com-
posite ethnical group, which on the east side ranged
uninterruptedly from the Channel to the Grampians. Later
the expansion was continued northwards beyond the
Grampians, and westwards through Strathclyde to Ireland,
while now the spread of education and the development of the
industries are already threatening to absorb the last strong-
holds of Celtic speech in Wales, the Highlands, and Ireland.
Thanks to its isolation in the extreme west, Ireland had been
left untouched by some of the above described ethnical move-
ments. It is 'doubtful whether Palaeolithic man Ethnic Re-
ever reached this region, and but few even of the lations in
round-heads ranged so far west during the Bronze Ireland.
Age\ The land oscillations during post-Glacial times appear to
have been practically identical over an area including northern
Ireland, the southern half of Scotland, and northern England.
There was a period of depression followed by one of elevation.
The Lame beach-deposits prove that Neolithic man was in
existence from almost the beginning of the deposition of that
series until after its conclusion. The estuarine clays of Belfast
Lough correspond to the depression, and the Neolithic period
extended from at least near the top of the lower estuarine clay
to the beach-deposit of yellow sand which overlies it, or
possibly till later. It is to this period of elevation that the
Neolithic sites among the sand dunes of North Ireland belong;
those of Whitepark Bay and Portstewart, for example, extend
to the maximum elevation. A slight movement of subsidence
of about five feet in recent times has left the surface as we now
find it. The implements found in the Larne gravels correspond
to some extent with those of Danish kitchen-middens ; this
1 W. Z. Ripley, The Races of Europe, 1900, p. 310; T. Rice Holmes, Ancient
Britain, 1907, p. 432.
520 , Man: Past and Present [ch.
was not a dwelling site but a quarry-shop or roughing-out
place, the serviceable flakes being taken away for further
manipulation ; it thus belongs to the earliest phase of neolithic
times. The sandhill sites were occupied, continuously and
occasionally, during neolithic times, through the Bronze Age,
and into the Iron and Christian periods^ Nina F. Layard
has recently studied the Larne raised beach and exposed a new
section. She states that "Taken as a whole the flints certainly
do not correspond at all closely either to the Palaeoliths or
Neoliths so far found in England.,.. Some are strongly
reminiscent of well-known drift type.... A gain, there are shapes
that bear a closer resemblance to some of the earliest Neolithic
types"." She believes that, from their rolled condition, they
were derived from another source.
F. J. Bigger* described some kitchen-middens at Port-
nafeadog, near Roundstone, Connemara, which yielded stone
hammers but no worked flints, pottery or metal-ware. The
chief interest of this paper is due to the fact that it is the first
record of the occurrence of vast quantities of the shells of
Purpura lapillus, all of which were broken in such a manner
that the animal could easily be extracted. There can be no
doubt that the purple dye was manufactured here in prehistoric
times^ W. J. Knowjes^ suggests from the close resemblance
— in fact identity — of a great number of neolithic objects in
Ireland with palaeolithic forms in France (Saint- Acheul,
Moustier, Solutre, La Madeleine types), that the Irish objects
bridge over the gap between the two ages, and were worked
by tribes from the continent following the migration of the
reindeer northwards. These peoples may have continued to
make tools of palaeolithic types, while at the same time coming
under the influence of the neolithic culture gradually arriving
from some southern region. The astonishing development of
this neolithic culture in the remote island on the confines of the
west, as illustrated in W. C. Borlase's sumptuous volumes", is
1 G. Coffey and R. Lloyd Praeger, " The Antrim Raised Beach : a Contribution
to the Neolithic History of, the North of Ireland," Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. XXV. (c.)
1904. See also the valuable series of " Reports on Prehistoric Remains from the
Sandhills of the Coast of Ireland," P. R. I. A. XVI.
^ Mari, ix. 1909, No. 54.
' Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. (3), ill. 1896, p. 727.
* Cf. also J. Wilfred Jackson, "The Geographical Distribution of the Shell-
Purple Industry," Mem. and Proc. Manchester Lit. and Phil. Soc. LX. No. 7, 1916.
^ Swvivcdsfrom the Palaeolithic Age among Irish Neolithic Implements, 1897.
^ The Doltnens of Ireland, 1897.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 521
a perpetual wonder, but is rendered less inexplicable if we
assume an immense duration of the New Stone Age in the
British Isles. The Irish dolmen-builders were presumably of
the same long-headed stock as those of Britain\ and they were
followed by Celtic-speaking Goidels who may have come
directly from the continent^ and there is evidence in Ptolemy
and elsewhere of the presence of Brythonic tribes from Gaul
in the east. Since these early historic times the intruders have
been almost exclusively of Teutonic race, and Viking invaders
from Norway and Denmark founded the earliest towns such
as Dublin, Waterford and Limerick. Now all alike, save for
an almost insignificant and rapidly dwindling minority, have
assumed the speech of the English and Lowland Scotch
intruders, who began to arrive late in the 12th century, and
are now chiefly massed in Ulster, Leinster, and all the large
towns. The rich and highly poetic Irish language has a
copious medieval literature of the utmost importance to
students of European origins.
In Scotland few ethnical changes or displacements have
occurred since the colonisation of portions of the west by
Gaelic-speaking Scottic tribes from Ireland, and
the English (Angle) occupation of the Lothians. fclttind! '°
The Grampians have during historic times formed
the main ethnical divide between the two elements, and brook-
lets which can be taken at a leap are shown where the opposite
banks have for hundreds of years been respectively held by
formerly hostile, but now friendly communities of Gaelic and
broad Scotch speech. Here the chief intruders have been
Scandinavians, whose descendants may still be recognised in
Caithness, the Hebrides, and the Orkney and Shetland groups.
Faint echoes of the old Norrena tongue are said still to linger
amongst the sturdy Shetlanders, whose assimilation to the
dominant race began only after their transfer from Norway to
the Crown of Scotland.
' They need not, however, have cottie from Britain, and the allusions in Irish
literature to direct immigration from Spain, probable enough in itself, are too
numerous to be disregarded. Thus, Geoffrey of Monmouth : — " Hibernia Basclen-
sibus [to the Basques] incolenda datur" {Hist. Reg. Brit. ill. § 12); and Giraldus
Cambrensis:— "De Gurguntio Brytonum Rege, qui Rasclenses [read Basclenses]
in Hiberniam transmisit et eandem ipsis habitandam concessit." I am indebted to
Wentworth Webster for these references {Academy, Oct. 19, 1895).
2 H. Zimmer, " Auf welchen Wage kamen die Goidelen vom Kontinent nach
Irland?" Abh. d. K. preuss. Akad. d. Wiss. 1912.
522 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Since 1 90 1 the researches of Gray and Tocher^ on the
pigmentation of some 500,000 school children of Scotland
have increased our information as to racial distribution. The
average percentage of boys with fair hair is nearly 25 for the
whole of the country, and when this is compared with 82 in
Schleswig Holstein "we are driven to the: conclusion that the
pure Norse or Anglo-Saxon element in our population is by
no means predominant. There is evidently also a dark or
brunette element which is at least equal in amount and
probably greater than that of the Norse element" (p. 380).
Pure blue eyes for the whole of Scotland average 14" 7 per
cent., which may be compared with 42*9 in Prussia. The
greatest density for fair hair and eyes is to be found in the
great river valleys opening on to the German Ocean, and also
in the Western Isles. The Tweed, Forth, Tay and Don all
show indications of settlements of a blonde race " probably due
to Anglo-Saxon invasions," but the maximum is to be found
at the mouth of the Spey. The high percentage here and in
the Hebrides and opposite coasts, the authors trace to Viking
invasions. The percentage of dark hair for boys and girls is
25*2 as. compared with i'3 in Prussian school children, the
maximum density as we should expect being in the west. Jet
black hair (i"2°/o) has its maximum density in the central
highlands and wild west coast. Beddoe" commenting on Gray
and Tocher's results calculates an even higher percentage of
black hair (over 2 ° j ^, " either within or astride of the Highland
frontier. Except Paisley, there is not a single instance south
of the Forth, nor one between the Spey and the Firth of Tay.
Surely there is something ' racial ' here." Beddoe's map,
constructed from Gray and Tocher's statistics, clearly indicates
the distribution of racial types.
The work carried on in Wales for a number of years by
H. J. Fleure and T. C. James' has produced some extremely
interesting results. The chief types (based on
Wales! measurements and observations of head, face,
nose, skin, hair and eye colour, stature, etc.) fall
into the following groups.
' J. Gray, " Memoir on the Pigmentation Survey of Scotland," Journ. Roy.
Anthr. Inst, xxxvii. 1907.
^ "A Last Contribution to Scottish Ethnology," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst.
xxxviii. 1908.
^ " The Geographical Distribution of Anthropological Types in Wales," Journ.
Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLVI. 1916.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 523
1. "The fundamental type is certainly the long-headed
brunet of the moorlands and their inland valleys. He is uni-
versally recognised as belonging to the Mediterranean race of
Sergi and as dating back in this country to early Neolithic
times." The cephalic index is about 78, with high colouring,
dark hair and eyes, and stature rather below the average. A
possible mixture of earlier stocks is shown in a longer-headed
type (c.i. about 75), with well-marked occiput, very dark hair
and eyes, swarthy complexion, and average stature (about
1690 mm. = 5 ft. 6^ ins.). Occasionally in North Wales the
occurrence of lank black hair, a sallow complexion and
prominent cheekbones suggests a " Mongoloid " type ; and a
type with small stature, black, closely curled hair and a rather
broad nose has negroid reminiscences. The Plynlymon
moorlands contain a " nest" of extreme dolichocephaly and an
unusually high percentage of red hair.
2. Nordic-Alpine type, with cephalic index mainly between
76 and 81. This group includes {a) a "local version of the
Nordic type" occurring at Newcastle Emlyn and in South and
South-West Pembrokeshire with fair hair and eyes, usually
tall stature and great strength of brow, jaw and chin ; {b) a
heavier variant on the Welsh border, often with cephalic index
above 80, and extremely tall stature ; {c) the Borreby or
Beaker- Maker type, broad-headed and short-faced with darker
pigmentation, probably a cross between Alpine and Nordic,
characteristic of the long cleft from Corwen via Bala to Tabyllyn
and Towyn.
3. Dark bullet-headed short thick-^et men of the general
type denoted by the term Alpine or more exactly perhaps by
the term Cevenole are found, though not commonly, in North
Montgomeryshire valleys. •
4. Powerfully built, often intensely dark, broad-headed,
broad-faced, strong and square jawed men are characteristic
of the Ardudwy coast, the South Glamorgan coast, Newquay
district (Cardiganshire) and elsewhere.
The authors observe that Type i with its variations con-
tributes " considerable numbers to the ministries of the various
churches, possibly in part from inherent and racial leanings,
but partly also because these are the people of the moorlands.
The idealism of such people usually expresses itself in music,
poetry, literature and religion rather than in architecture,
painting and plastic arts generally. They rarely have a suffi-
524 Man: Past and Present [ch.
ciency of material resources for the latter activities. These
types also contribute a number of men^to the medical profes-
sion. ...The successful commercial men, who have given the
Welsh their extraordinarily prominent place in British trade
(shipping firms for example) usually belong to types 2 or 4,
rather than to i, as also do the majority of Welsh members of
Parliament, though there are exceptions of the first importance.
The Nordic type is marked by ingenuity and enterprise in
striking out new lines. Type 2 [c) in Wales is remarkable for
governmental ability of the administrative kind as well as for
independence of thought and critical power " (p. 1 19).
We have now all the elements needed to unravel the
ethnical tangle of the present inhabitants of the British Isles.
Present Con- The astonishing prevalence everywhere of the
stitution of moderately dolicho heads is at once explained by
tiie^ British ^j^g absence of brachy immigrants except in the
Bronze period, and these could do no more than
raise the cephalic index from about 70 or 72 to the present
mean of about 78. With the other perhaps less stable charac-
ters the case is not always quite so simple. The brunettes,
representing the Mediterranean type, certainly increase, as we
should expect, from north-east to south-west, though even here
there is a considerable dark patch, due to local causes, in the
home shires about London \ But the stature, almost every-
where a troublesome factor, seems to wander somewhat
lawlessly over the land.
Although a short stature more or less coincides with
brunetteness in England and Wales, and the observations in
Ireland are too few to be relied on, no such parallelism can be
traced in Scotland. The west (Inverness and Argyllshire),
though as dark as South Wales, shows an average stature of
173 m. to 1 74 m. (5 ft. Sins, to 5 ft. 8^ ins.), which is higher than
the average for the whole of Britain. And South-west Scotland,
where the type is fairly dark, contains the tallest population
in Europe, if not in the world. Ripley suggests either that
" some ethnic element of which no pure trace remains, served
to increase the stature of the western Highlanders without at
the same time conducing to blondness ; or else some local
influences of natural selection or environment are responsible
for it"" ; and he hints also that the linguistic distinction between
1 For the explanation see W. Z. Ripley, The Races of Europe, 1900, p. 322 ff.
2 W. Z. Ripley, loc. cit. p. 329.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 525
Gaels and Brythons may have been associated with physical
variation.
The English tongue need not detain us long. Its qualities,
illustrated in the noblest of all literatures, are patent to
the world*, indeed have earned for it from Jacob
Grimm _ the title of Welt-Sprache, the "World SngSS'*"
Speech." It belongs, as might be anticipated from
the northern origin of the Teutonic element in Britain, to the
Low German divisionof the Teutonic branch of the Aryan family.
Despite extreme pressure from Norman French, continued for
over 200 years (1066 — 1300), it has remained faithful to this
connection in its inner structure, which reveals not a trace of
Neo- Latin influences. The phonetic system has undergone
profound changes, which can be only indirectly and to a small
extent due to French action. What English owes to French
and Latin is a very large number, many thousands, of words,
some superadded to, some superseding their Saxon equivalents,
but altogether immensely increasing its wealth of expression,
while giving it a transitional position between the somewhat
sharply contrasted Germanic and Romance worlds.
Amongst the Romance peoples, that is, the French,
Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Rumanians, many Swiss and
Belgians, who were entirely assimilated in speech
and largely in their civil institutions to their Nation!^"*^
Roman masters, the paramount position, a sort of
international hegemony, has been taken by the French nation
since the decadence of Spain under the feeble successors of
Philip II. The constituent elements of these Gallo-Romans,
as they may be called, are much the same as those of the
British peoples, but differ in their distribution and relative
proportions. Thus the Iberians (Aquitani, Pictones. and later
Vascones), who may perhaps be identified with the neolithic
long-heads', do not appear ever to have ranged much farther
north than Brittany, and were Aryanised in pre-Roman times
by the P-speaking Celts everywhere north of the Garonne.
The prehistoric Teutons again, who had advanced beyond
1 " The Frenchman, the German, the Italian, the Englishman, to each of whom
his own literature and the great traditions of his national life are most dear and
familiar cannot help but feel that the vernacular in which these are embodied and
expressed is and must be, superior to the alien and awkward languages of his
neighbours."' L. Pearsall Smith, The English Language, p. 54.
2 See above p. 455. T. Rice Holmes points out that the Aquitani were already
mixed in type. Caesar's Conquest 0/ Gaul, 1911, p. 12.
526 Man : Past and Present [ch.
the Rhine at an early period (Caesar says antiquitus) into
the present Belgium, were mainly confined to the northern
provinces. Even the historic Teutons (chiefly Franks and
Burgundians) penetrated little beyond the Seine in the north
and the present Burgundy in the east, while the Vandals,
Visigoths and a few others passed rapidly through to Iberia
beyond the Pyrenees.
Thus the greater part of the land, say from the Seine-
Marne basin to the Mediterranean, continued to be held by
the Romanised mass of Alpine type throughout all the central
and most of the southern provinces, and elsewhere in the
south by the Romanised long-headed Mediterranean type.
This great preponderance of the Romanised Alpine masses
explains the rapid absorption of the Teutonic intruders, who
were all, except the Fleming section of the Belgae, completely
assimilated to the Gallo- Romans before the close of the tenth
century. It also explains the perhaps still more remarkable
fact that the Norsemen who settled (912) under Rollo in
Normandy were all practically Frenchmen when a fewgenera^
tions later they followed their Duke William to the conquest
of Saxon England. Thus the only intractable groups have
proved to be the Basques^ and the Bretons, both of whom to
this day retain their speech in isolated corners of the country.
With these exceptions the whole of France, save the debate-
able area of Alsace-Lorraine, presents in its speech a certain
homogeneous character, the standard language {langue d'oiP)
being current throughout all the northern and central pro-
vinces, while it is steadily gaining upon the southern iorm.{langue
d'oc^) still surviving in the rural districts of Limousin and
Provence.
But pending a more thorough fusion of such tenacious
elements as Basques, Bretons, Auvergnats, and Savoyards, we
, _ . can scarcely yet speak of a common French type.
Mental Traits. , ^ , / ■ i-^ -n 11 '^
but only 01 a common nationality. Tall stature,
long skulls, fair or light brown colour, grey or blue eyes, still
' See above p. 454.
2 That is, the languages whose afifirmatives were the Latin pronouns hoc illud
(oil) and hoc {oc), the former being more contracted, the latter nwre expanded, as
we see in the very names of the respective Northern and Southern bards : Trouvires
and Troubadours. It was customary in medieval times to name languages in this
way, Dante, for instance, calling. Italian la lingua del si, "the language of yes" ;
and, strange to say, the same usage prevails largely amongst the Australian
aborigines, who, however, use both the affirmative and the negative particles, so
that we have here no- as well as .y^j-tribes.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 527
prevail, as might be expected, in the north, these being traits
common alike to the prehistoric Belgae, the Franks of the
Merovingian and Carlovingian empires, and Rollo's Norsemen.
With these contrast the southern peoples of short stature,
olive-brown skin, round heads, dark brown or black eyes and
hair. The • tendency towards uniformity has proceeded far
more rapidly in the urban than in the rural districts. Hence
the citizens of Paris, Lyons, Bordeaux, Marseilles and other
large towns, present fewer and less striking contrasts than
the natives of the old historical provinces, where are still
distinguished the loquacious and mendacious Gascon, the
pliant and versatile Basque, the slow and wary Norman, the
dreamy and fanatical Breton, the quick and enterprising
Burgundian, and the bright, intelligent, more even-tempered
native of Touraine, a typical Frenchman occupying the heart
of the land, and holding, as it were, the balance between all
the surrounding elements.
In Spain and Portugal we have again the same ethnological
elements, but also again in different proportions and differently
distributed, with others superadded — proto-Phoe- -j-jje
nicians and later Phoenicians (Carthaginians), Spaniards and
Romans, Visigoths, Vandals, and still later Ber- Portuguese,
bers and Arabs. Here the Celtic-speaking mixed peoples
mingled in prehistoric times with the long-headed Mediter-
raneans, an ethnical fusion known to the ancients, who labelled
it " Keltiberian^" But, as in Britain, the other intruders
were mostly long-heads, with the striking result that the
Peninsula presents to-day exactly the same uniform cranial
type as the British Isles. Even the range (76 to 79) and the
mean (78) of the cephalic index are the same, rising in Spain
to 80 only in the Basque corner. As Ripley states, "the
average cephalic index of 78 occurs nowhere else so uni-
formly distributed in Europe " except in Norway, and this
uniformity " is the concomitant and index of two relatively
pure, albeit widely different, ethnic types — Mediterranean in
Spain, Teutonic in Norway^"
In other respects the social, one might almost say the
national, groups are both more numerous and perhaps even
more sharply discriminated in the Peninsula Provincial
than in France. Besides the Basques and Groups.
1 S. Feist points out that two physical types were recognised in antiquity, one
dark and one fair, and reference to red hair and fair skin suggests Celtic infusion.
K'ultur, Ausbreitung. und Herkunft dtr Indogermarien, 1913, p. 365.
2 Science Progress, ^. 159.
528 Man: Past and Present [ch.
Portuguese, the latter with a considerable strain of negro
bloody we have such very distinct populations as the haughty
and punctilious Castilians, who under an outward show of
pride and honour, are capable of much meanness ; the sprightly
and vainglorious Andalusians, who have been called the
Gascons of Spain, yet of graceftil address and seductive
manners ; the morose and impassive Murcians, indolent because
fatalists ; the gay Valenqiaps given to much dancing and revelry,
but also to sudden fits of murderous rage, holding life so cheap
that they will hire themselves out as assassins, and cut their
bread with the blood-stained knife of their last victim ; the
dull and superstitious Aragonese, also given to bloodshed,
and so obdurate that they are said to "drive nails in with
their heads " ; lastly the Catalans, noisy and quarrelsome, but
brave, industrious, and enterprising," on the whole the best
element in this motley aggregate of unbalanced temperaments.
The various aspects of Spanish temperament are regarded by
Havelock Ellis'' as manifestations of an aboriginally primitive
race, which, under the stress of a peculiarly stimukting and
yet hardening environment, has retained through every stage
of development an unusual degree of the endowment of fresh
youth, of elemental savagery, with which it started. This
explains the fine qualities of Spain and her defects, the
splendid initiative, and lack of sustained ability to carry it out,
the importance of the point of honour and the glorification of
the primitive virtue of valour.
In Italy the past and present relations, as elucidated especially
by Livi and Sergi, may be thus briefly stated. After the
first Stone Age, of which there are fewer in-
lations in Vtaly dications than might be expected ^ the whole land
was thickly settled by dark long-headed Mediter-
ranean peoples in neolithic times. These were later joined
by Pelasgians of like type from Greece, and by Illyrians
of doubtful affinity from the Balkan Peninsula. Indeed C.
1 "The Portuguese are much mixed with Negroes more particularly in the south
and along the coast. The slave trade existed long before the Negroes of Guinea
were exported to the plantations of America. Damiao de Goes estimated the
number of blacks imported into Lisbon alone during the i6th century at 10,000
or 12,000 per annum. If contemporary eye-witnesses can be trusted, the number
of blacks met with in the streets of Lisbon equalled that of the whites. Not a house
but had its negro servants, and the wealthy owned entire gangs of them " (Reclus,
I. p. 471).
2 "The Spanish People," Cont. Rev. May, 1907, and The Soul of Spain, 1908.
^ T. E. Peet, Stone and Bronze Ages in Italy and Sicily, 1909, gives a full
account of the archaeology.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 529
Penka', who has so many paradoxical theories, makes the
lUyrians the first inhabitants of Italy, as shown by the striking
resemblance of the terramara culture of Aemilia with that of
the Venetian and Laibach pile-dwellings. The recent finds in
Bosnia also^ besides the historically proved (?) migration of
the Siculi from Upper Italy to Sicily, and their Illyrian origin,
all point in the same direction. But the facts are differently
interpreted by Sergi^ who holds that the whole land was
occupied by the Mediterraneans, because we find even in
Switzerland pile-dwellers of the same type*.
Then came the peoples of Aryan speech, Celtic-speaking
Alpines from the north-west and Slavs from the north-east,
who raised the cephalic index in the north, where the brachy
element, as already seen, still greatly predominates but
diminishes steadily southwards". They occupied the whole
of Umbria, which at first stretched across the peninsula from
the Adriatic to the Mediterranean, but was later encroached'
upon by the intruding Etruscans on the west side. Then also
some of these Umbrians, migrating southwards to Latium
beyond the Tiber, intermingled, says Sergi, with the Italic
(Ligurian) aborigines, and became the founders of the Roman
state^ With the spread of the Roman arms the Latin language,
which Sergi claims to be a kind of Aryanised Ligurian, but
must be regarded as a true member of the Aryan family, was
1 "Zur Palaoethnologie Mittel- u. Sudeuropas" in Mitt. Wiener Anthr op. Ges.
1897, p. i8. It should here be noted that in his History of the Greek Language
(1896) Kretschmer connects the inscriptions of the Veneti in north Italy and of the
Messapians in the south with the Illyrian linguistic family, which he regards as
Aryan intermediate between the Greek and the Italic branches, the present Albanian
being a surviving member of it. In the same Illyrian family W. M. Lindsay would
also include the " Old'Sabellian " of Picenum, "believed to be the oldest inscriptions
on Italian soil. The manifest identity of the name Aodatos and the word meitimon
with the Illyrian names Kihaxa and Meitima is almost sufficient of itself to prove
these inscriptions to be Illyrian. Further the whole character of their language,
with its Greek and its Italic features, corresponds with what we know and what we
can safely infer about the Illyrian family of languages " ^(/4ca(/^»y, Oct. 24, 1896).
Cf. R. S. Conway, The Italic Dialects, 1897.
2 R. Munro, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Dalmatia, 1900. See also W. Ridgeway,
The Early Age of Greece, 1901, ch. v., showing that remains of the Iron Age in
Bosnia are closely connected with Hallstatt and La T^ne cultures.
3 Arii e Italici, p. 158 sq.
* " Liguri e Pelasgi furono i primi abitatori d' Italia ; e Liguri sembra siano stati
quelli che occupavano la Valle del Po e costrussero le palafitte, e Liguri forse anche
i costruttori delle palafitte svizzere: Mediterranei tutti" {lb. p. 138).
* Ripley's chart shows a range of from 87 in Piedmont to 76 and 77 in Calabria,
Puglia, and Sardinia, and 75 and under in Corsica. The Races of Europe, 1900,
p. 251.
« But cf. W. Ridgeway, Who were the Romans? 1908.
K. 34
530 Man : Past and Present [ch.
diffused throughout the whole of the peninsula and islands,
sweeping away all traces not only of. the original Ligurian and
other Mediterranean tongues, but also of Etruscan and its
own sister languages, such as Umbrian, Oscan, and Sabellian.
At the fall of the empire the land was overrun by Ostrogoths,
HeruH, and other Teutons, none of whom formed permanent
settlements except the Longobards, who gave their name to
the present Lombardy, but were themselves rapidly assimilated
in speech and general culture to the surrounding populations,
whom we may now call Italians in the modern sense of the
term.
When it is remembered that the Aegean culture had spread
to Italy at an early date, that it was continued under
Hellenic influences by Etruscans and Umbrians,
Ethics ^2Lt Greek arts and letters were planted on
Italian soil {Magna G^ra^txa) before the foundation
of Rome, that all these civilisations converged in Rome itself
and were thence diffused throughout the West, that the
traditions of previous cultural epochs never died out, acquired
new life with the Renascence and were thus perpetuated to
the present day, it may be claimed for the gifted Italian people
that they have been for a longer period than any others under
the unbroken sway of general humanising influences. .
These " Latin Peoples," as they are called becaiise they
all speak languages of the Latin stock, are not confined to
the West. To the Italian, French, Spanish, Por-
Rumanians. tuguese, with the less known and ruder Walloon
of Belgium and Romansch of Switzerland, Tyrol,
and Friuli, must be associated the Rumanian current amongst
some nine millions of so-called " Daco- Rumanians " in Moldavia
and Wallachia, i.e. the modern kingdom of Rumania. The
same Neo- Latin tongue is also spoken *by the Tsintsars or
Kutzo- Vlacks^ of the Mount Pindus districts in the Balkan
Peninsula, and by- numerous Rumanians who have in later
limes migrated into Hungary. They form a compact and
vigorous nationality, who claim direct descent from the Roman
' The true name of these southern or Macedo-Rumanians, as pointed out by
Gustav Weigland {Globus, LXXI. p. 54), is Aramdni or Armdni, i.e. " Romans."
Tsintsar, Kutzo- Vlack, etc. are mere nicknames, by which they are known to their
Macedonian (Bulgar and Greek) neighbours. See also W. R. MorfiU in Academy,
July I, 1893. The Vlachs of Macedonia are described by E. Pears, Turkey and its
People, 191 1, and a full account of the Balkan Vlachs is given by A. J. B. Wace
and M. S. Thompson, The Nomhds of the Balkans, 1914.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 531
military colonists settled north of the Lower Danube by Trajan
after his conquest of the Dacians (107 a.d.). But great
difficulties attach to this theory, which is rejected by many
ethnologists, especially on the ground that, after Trajan's
time, Dacia was repeatedly swept clean by the Huns, the
Finns, the Avars, Magyars and other rude Mongolo-Turki
hordes, besides many almost ruder Slavic peoples during the
many centuries when the eastern populations were in a state
of continual flux after the withdrawal of the Roman legionaries
from the Lower Danube. Besides, it is shown by Roesler^
and others that under Aurelian (257 a.d.) Trajan's colonists
withdrew bodily southwards to and beyond the Hemus to the
territory of the old Bessi (Thracians), i.e. the district still
occupied by the Macedo- Rumanians. But in the 13th century,
during the break-up of the Byzantine empire, most of these
fugitives were again driven north to their former seats beyond
the Danube, where they have ever since held their ground,
and constituted themselves a distinct and far from feeble
branch of the Neo-Latin community. The Pindus, therefore,
rather than the Carpathians, is to be taken as the last area of
dispersion of these valiant and intelligent descendants of the
Daco- Romans. This seems the most rational solution of
what A. D. Xenopol calls " an historic enigma," although he
himself rejects Roesler's conclusions in favour of the old view
so dear to the national pride of the present Rumanian peopled
The composite character of the Rumanian language — funda-
mentally Neo-Latin or rather early Italian, with strong Illyrian
(Albanian) and Slav affinities — would almost imply that Dacia
had never been Romanised under the empire, and that in fact
this region was for the first time occupied by its present
Romance speaking inhabitants in the 13th century'. The
nomadic life of the Rumanians is in itself, as Peisker points
out^ a refutation of their descent from settled Roman colonists,
and indicates a Central Asiatic origin. The mounted nomads
grazed during the summer " on most of the mountains of the
^ Romdnische Studien, Leipzig, 1 871.
2 Les Roumains au Moyen Age, passim. Hunfalvy, quoted by A. J. Patterson
{Academy, Sept. 7, 1895), also shows that "for a thousand years there is no authentic
mention of a Latin or Romance speaking population north of the Danube."
3 This view is held by L. R^thy, also quoted by Patterson, and the term Vlack
( Welsch, whence Wallachia) applied to the Rumanians by all their Slav and Greek
neighbours points in the same direction.
* T. Peisker, "The Asiatic Background," Camb. Med. Hist. Vol. I. 191 1, p. 356,
and "The Expansion of the Slavs," ib. Vol. II. 191 3, p. 440.
34—2
532 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Balkan peninsula, and took up their winter quarters on the
sea-coasts among a peasant population speaking a different
language. Thence they gradually spread, unnoticed by the
chroniclers, along all the mountain ranges, over all the
Carpathians of Transylvania, North Hungary, and . South
Galicia, to Moravia; towards the north-west from Montenegro
onwards over Herzegovina, Bosnia, I stria, as far as South
Styria ; towards the south over Albania far into Greece.... And
like the peasantry among which they wintered (and winter)
long enough, they became (and become) after a transitory bilin-
gualism, Greeks, Albanians, Servians, Bulgarians, Ruthenians,
Poles, Slovaks, Chekhs, Slovenes, Croatians...a mobile nomad
stratum among a strange-tongued and more numerous peasant
element, and not till later did they gradually take to agriculture
and themselves become settled."
The Pelasgians and Minoancivilisation have been brieflydis-
cussed above (Ch. XIII.). Later problems in Greek ethnology
Ethnic Re- are Still under dispute. Sergi, who regards the proto-
lations in Aryans as round-headed barbarians of Celtic,
Greece. Slav, and Teutonic speech, makes no exception in
favour of the Hellenes. These also enter Greece not as civilisers,
but rather as destroyers of the flourishing Mykenaean culture
developed here, as in Italy, by the Mediterranean aborigines.
But in course of time the intruders become absorbed in the
Pelasgic or eastern branch of the Mediterraneans, and what
we call Hellenism is really Pelasgianism revived, and to some
extent modified by the Aryan (Hellenic) element.
If it may be allowed that at their advent the Hellenes were
less civilised than the native Aegeans on whom they imposed
their Aryan speech, whence and when came they ?
e enes. g^ Penka\ for whom the Baltic lands would be
the original home not merely of the Germanic branch but of
all the Aryans, the Hellenic cradle is located in the Oder basin
between the Elbe and the Vistula. As the Doric, doubtless
the last Greek irruption into Hellas, is chronologically fixed
at 1 149 B.C., the beginning of the Hellenic migrations may be
dated back to the 13th century. When the Hellenes migrated
from Central Europe to Greece, the period of the general
ethnic dispersion was already closed, and the migratory period
which next followed began with the Hellenes, and was con-
tinued by the I tali, Gauls, Germans, etc. The difficulties
' Mitt. Wiener Anthrop. Ges. 1897, p. 18.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 533
created by this view are insurmountable. Thus we should
have to suppose that from this relatively contracted Aryan
cradle countless tribes swarmed over Europe since the 13th
century B.C., speaking profoundly different languages (Greek,
Celtic, Latin, etc.), all differentiated since that time on the
shores of the Baltic. The proto-Aryans with their already
specialised tongues had reached the shores of the Mediterranean
long before that time and, according to MasperoS were known
to the Egyptians of the 5th dynasty (3990-3804 B.C.) if not
earlier. Allowing that these may have rather been pre-
Hellenes (Pelasgians), we still know that the Achaeans had
traditionally arrived about 1250 B.C. and they were already
speaking the language of Homer.
" The indications of archaeology and of legend agree
marvellously well with those of the Egyptian records," says
H. R. HalP, " in making the Third Late Minoan period one
of incessant disturbance The whole basin of the Eastern
Mediterranean seems to have been a seething turmoil of
migrations, expulsions, wars and piracies, started first by the
Mycenaean (Achaian) conquest of Crete, and then intensified
by the' constant impulse of the Northern iron-users into
Greece." Herodotus speaks of the great invasion of the
Thesprotian tribes from beyond Pindus, which took place
probably in the 13th century B.C.' As a result "an over-
whelming Aryan and iron-using population was first brought
into Greece. The earlier Achaian (.■*) tribes of Aryans in
Thessaly, who had perhaps lived there from time immemorial,
and had probably already infiltrated southwards to form the
mixed Ionian population about the Isthmus, were scattered, only
a small portion of the nation remaining in its original home,
while of the rest part conquered the South and another part
emigrated across the sea to the Phrygian coast. Of this
1 Dawn of Civilization, p. 391.
^ The Ancient History of the Near East, 191 3, p. 69.
' Hall notes (p. 73) that " it is to the Thesprotian invasion, which displaced the
Achaians, that, in all probability, the general introduction of iron into Greece is to
be assigned. The invaders came ultimately from the Danube region, where iron
was probably first used in Europe, whereas their kindred, the Achaians, had possibly
already lived in Thessaly in the Stone Age, and derived the knpwledge of metal
from the Aegeans. The speedy victory of the new-comers over the older Aryan
inhabitants of Northern Greece may be ascribed to their possession of iron weapons."
Ridgeway, however, has little difficulty in proving that the Achaeans themselves were
tall fair Celts from Central Europe. The Early Age of Greece, 1901, especially chap.
IV., "Whence came the Acheans?" The question is dealt with from a different
point of view by J. L. Myres, in The Da'wn of History, 191 1, chap, ix., "The Coming
of the North," tracing the invasion from the Eurasian steppes.
534 Man : Past and Present [ch.
emigration to Asia the first event must have been the war of
Troy..,. The Boeotian and Achaian invasion of the South
scattered the Minyae, Pelasgians, and lonians. The remnant
of the Minyae emigrated to Lemnos, the Pelasgi and lonians
were concentrated in Attica and another body of lonians in
the later Achaia, while the Southern Achaeans pressed forward
into the Peloponnese'."
It is evident from the national traditions that the proto-
Greeks did not arrive en bloc, but rather at intervals in separate
and often hostile bands bearing different names. But all these
groups — Achaeans, Danai, Argians, Dolopes, Myrmidons,
Leleges and many others, some of which were also found in
Asia Minor — retained a strong sense of their common origin.
The sentiment, which may be called racial rather than national,
received ultimate expression when to all of them was extended
the collective name of Hellenes (Sellenes originally), that is,
descendants of Deucalion's son Hellen, whose two sons Aeolus
and Dorus, and grandson Ion, were supposed to be the pro-
genitors of the Aeolians, Dorians, and lonians. But such
traditions are merely reminiscences of times when the tribal
groupings still prevailed, and it may be taken for granted that
the three main branches of the Hellenic stock did not spring
from a particular family that rose to power in comparatively
recent times in the Thessalian district of Phthiotis. Whatever
truth may lie behind the Hellenic legend, it is highly probable
that, at the time when Hellen is said to have flourished (about
1500 B.C.), the Aeolic-speaking communities of Thessaly,
Arcadia, Boeotia, the closely-allied Dorians'' of Phocaea, Argos,
and Laconia, and the lonians of Attica, had already been
clearly specialised, had in fact formed special
Lsmeuaee groups before entering Greece. Later their dia-
lects, after acquiring a certain polish and leaving
some imperishable records of the many-sided Greek genius,
were gradually merged in the literary Neo- Ionic or Attic,
which thus became the Koivr\ SiaXeKTos, or current speech of
the Greek world.
Admirable alike for its manifold aptitudes and surprising
vitality, the language of Aeschylus, Thucydides, and the
other great Athenians outlived all the vicissitudes of the
' H. R. Hall, loc. cit. p. 68; cf. H. Vcakt, Journ. Roy. Anth. Inst. 1916, p. 154.
^ C. H. Hawes, "Some Dorian Descendants," Ann. Brit. School Ath. No. xvi.
igcjg-io, proves that the Dorian or lUyrian (Alpine) type still persists in South Greece
and Crete.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 535
Byzantine empire, during which it was for a time banished
from Southern Greece, and even still survives, although in a
somewhat degraded form, in the Romaic or Neo- Hellenic
tongue of modern Hellas. Romaic, a name which recalls a
time when the Byzantines were known as "Romans" through-
out the East, differs far less from the classical standard than
do any of the Romance tongues from Latin. Since the re-
storation of Greek independence great efforts have been made
to revive the old language in all its purity, and some modern
writers now compose in a style differing little from that of the
classic period.
Yet the Hellenic race itself has almost perished on the
mainland. Traces of the old Greek type have been detected
by Lenormant and others, especially amongst the women of
Patras and Missolonghi. But within living memory Attica
was still an Albanian land, and Fallmerayer has conclusively
shown that the Peloponnesus and adjacent districts had become
thoroughly Slavonised during the 6th and 7th centuries\
" For many centuries," writes the careful Roesler, " the Greek
peninsula served as a colonial domain for the Slavs, receiving
the overflow of their population from the Sarmatian lowlands^"
Their presence is betrayed in numerous geographical terms,
such as Varsova in Arcadia, Glogova, Tsilikhova, etc. Never-
theless, since the revival of the Hellenic sentiment there has
been a steady flow of Greek immigration from the Archipelago
and Anatolia ; and the Albanian, Slav, Italian, Turkish,
Rumanian, and Norman elements have in modern Greece
already become almost completely Hellenised, at least in speech.
Of the old dialects Doric alone appears to have survived in the
Tsaconic of the Laconian hills. The Greek language has,
however, disappeared from Southern Italy, Sicily, Syria, and
the greater part of Egypt and Asia Minor, where it was long
dominant.
To understand the appearance of Slavs in the Peloponnesus
we must go back to the Eurasian steppe, the probable cradle of
these multitudinous populations. Here they have ,^^ ^^^^
often been confused with the ancient Sarmatae,
who already before the dawn of history were in possession of
the South Russian plains between the Scythians towards the
1 Geschichte der Halbinsel Morea, Stuttgart, 1830. See also G. Finlay's
Mediaeval Greece^ and the Anthrop. Rev. 1868, vi. p. 154.
2 Romdnische Studien, 1871.
53^ Man : Past and Present [ch.
east and the proto-Germanic tribes before their migration to
the Baltic lands. But even at that time, before the close of the
Neolithic Age, there must have been interminglings, if not with
the western Teutons, almost certainly with the eastern Scythians,
which helps to explain the generally vague characteroftherefer-
ences made by classical writers both to the Sarmatians and the
Scythians, who sometimes seem to be indistinguishable from
savage Mongol hordes, and at others are represented as semi-
cultured peoples, such as the Aryans of the Bronze period might
have been round about the district of Olbia and the other early
Miletian settlements on the northern shores of the Euxine.
Owing to these early crossings Andre Lefevre goes so far
as to say that "there is no Slav race'," but only nations of
divers more or less pure types, more or less crossed, speaking
dialects of the same language, who later received the name of
Slavs, borne by a prehistoric tribe of Sarmatians, and meaning
"renowned," " illustrious I" Both their language and mytho-
logies, continues Lefevre, point to the vast region near Irania
as the primeval home of the Slav, as of the Celtic and Germanic
populations. The Sauromatae or Sarmatae of Herodotus^ who
had given their name to the mass of Slav or Slavonised peoples,
still dwelt north of the Caucasus and south of the Budini
between the Caspian, the Don and Sea of Azov ; " after
crossing the Tanais (Don) we are no longer in
matiM^" Scythia ; we begin to enter the lands of the
Sauromatae, who, starting from the angle of the
Palus Moeotis (Sea of Azov), occupy a space of 1 5 days' march,
where are neither trees, fruit-trees, nor savages. Above the
tract fallen to them the Budini occupy another district, which
is overgrown with all kinds of trees^" Then Herodotus
seems to identify these Sarmatians with the Scythians,
whence all the subsequent doubts and confusion. Both spoke
the same language, of which seven distinct dialects are men-
' Bui. Soc. d'Anthrop. 1896, p. 351 sq.
■ 2 By a sort of grim irony the word has come to mean "slave" in the West,
. owing to the multitudes of Slavs captured and enslaved during the medieval border
warfare. But the term is by many referred to the root slovo, word, speech, im-
plying a people of intelligible utterance, and this is supported by the form Slovene
occurring investor and still borne by a southern Slav group. Se§ T. Peisker, "The
Expansion of the Slavs," Cami. Med. Hist. Vol. ll. 1913, p. 421 n. 2.
3 IV. 21.
* These Budini are described as a large nation with " remarkably blue eyes and
red hair," on which account Zaborowski thinks they may have been ancestors of the
present Finns. But they may also vei-y well have been belated proto-Germani left
behind by the body of the nation en route for their new Baltic homes.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 537
tioned, yet a number of personal names preserved by the
Greeks have a certain Iranic look, so that these Scythian
tongues seem to have been really Aryan, forming a transition
between the Asiatic and the European branches of the family.
The probable explanation is that the Scythians' were a
horde which came down from Upper Asia, conquered an
Iranian -speaking people, and in time adopted the speech of its
subjects. E. H. Minns' suggests that the settled Scythians
represent the remains of the Iranian population, and the nomads
the conquering peoples. These were displaced later by the
Sarmatians, and Scythia becomes merely a geographical term.
Skulls dug up in Scythic graves throw no light on racial
affinities, some being long, and some short, but in customs
there is a close analogy with the Mongols, though, as Minns
points out, " the natural conditions of steppe-ranging dictated
the greater part of them."
Both Slav and Germanic tribes had probably in remote
times penetrated up the Danube and the Volga, while some
of the former under the name of Wends (Venedi^), appear to
have reached the Carpathians and the Baltic shores down the
Vistula. The movement was continued far into medieval
times, when great overlappings took place, and when numerous
Slav tribes, some still known as Wends, others as Sorbs, Croats,
or Ckekks, ranged over Central Europe to Pomerania and beyond
the Upper Elbe to Suabia. Most of these have long been Teu-
tonised, but a few of the Polabs*' survive as Wends in Prussian
and Saxon Lausatz, while the Chekhs and Slovaks still hold
their ground in Bohemia and Moravia, as the Poles do in
Posen and the Vistula valley, and the Rusniaks or Ruthenes
with the closely allied " Little Russians," in the Carpathians,
Galicia, and Ukrania.
It was from the Carpathian^ lands that came those Yugo-
slavs ("Southern Slavs") who, under the collective name of
1 Cf. p. 304. ^. Scythians and Greeks, 1909.
3 The meaning of Wend is uncertain. It has led to confusion with the Armorican
Veneti', the Paphlagonian Enetae, and the Adriatic Enetae- Venetae, all non-Slav
peoples. Shakhmatov regards it as a name inherited by Slavs from their conq^uerors,
the Celtic Venedi, who occupied the Vistula region in the 3rd or 2nd centuries B.C.
See T. Peisker, "The Expansion of the Slavs," Camb. Med. Hist. Vol. 11. 1913,
p. 421 «. 2.
* That is, the Elbe Slaves, from po=hy, near, and Labe=^Voe.; cf. Pomor
(Pomeranians), " by the Sea " ; Borussia, Porussia, Prussia, originally peopled by
the Pruczi, a branch of the Lithuanians Germanised in the 17th century.
* Carpath, Khrobat, Khorvat are all the same word, meaning highlands,
mountains, hence not strictly an ethnic term, although at present so used by the
Crovats or Croatians, a considerable section of the Yugo-Slavs south of the Danube.
53^ Man : Past and Present [ch.
Sorbs (Serbs, Servians), moved southwards beyond the
Danube, and overran a great part of the Balkan
Slavs °" ^"^ peninsula and nearly the whole of Greece in the
6th' and 7th centuries. They were the Khorvats'
or Khrobats' from the upland valleys of the Oder and Vistula,
whom, after his Persian wars, Heraclius invited to settle in
the wasted provinces south of the Danube, hoping, as Nadir
Shah did later with the Kurds in Khorasan, to make them a
northern bulwark of the empire against the incursions of the
Avars and other Mongolo-Turki hordes. Thus was formed
the first permanent settlement of the Yugo-Slavs in Croatia,
Istria, Dalmatia, Bosnia, and the Nerenta valley in 680, under
the five brothers Klukas, Lobol, Kosentses, Miikl,and Khrobat,
with their sisters Tuga and Buga. These were followed by
the kindred Srp (Sorb) tribes from the Elbe, who left their
homes in Misnia and Lusatia, and received as their patrimony
the whole region between Macedonia and Epirus, Dardania,
Upper Moesia, the Dacia of Aurelian, and Illyria, i.e. Bosnia
and Servia. The lower Danube was at the same time occupied
by the Severenses, " Seven Nations," also Slavs, who reached
to the foot of the Hemus beyond the present Varna. Nothing
could stem this great Slav inundation, which soon overflowed
into Macedonia (Rumelia), Thessaly, and Peloponnesus, so
that for a time nearly the whole of the Balkan lands, from the
Danube to the Mediterranean, became a Slav domain — parts
of Illyria and Epirus (Albania) with the Greek districts about
Constantinople alone excepted.
Hellas, as above seen, has recovered itself, and the
Albanians'^, direct descendants of the ancient Illyrians, still
The Albanians ^^'^ their ground arid keep alive the last echoes
of the old Illyrian language, which was almost
certainly a proto-Aryan form of speech probably intermediate,
as above-mentioned, between the Italic and Hellenic branches.
They even retain the old tribal system, so that there are not
only two main sections, the northern Ghegs and the southern
Toshks, but each section is divided into a number of minor
groups', such as the Malliesors (Klementi, Pulati, Hoti, etc.)
^ See note 5, p. 537.
^ That is, " Highlanders" (root alb, alp, height, hill). From Albanites through the
Byzantine Arvanites comes the Turkish Arnaut, while the national name Skipetar
has precisely the same meaning (root skip, scop, as in a-KoireXos, scopulus, cliff, crag).
^ There are about twenty of these p)its or p^ar (phratries) amongst the Ghegs,
and the practice of exogamous marriage still survives amongst the Mirdites south
of the Drin, who, although Catholics, seek their wives amongst the surrounding
hostile Turkish and Muhammadan Gheg populations.
■^^J The Caucasic Peoples 539
and Mirdites (Dibri, Fandi, Matia, etc.) in the north, and the
1 oxides (whence Toshk) and the Yapides (Lapides) in the
south. The southerners are mainly Orthodox Greeks, and in
other respects half-Hellenised Epirotes, the northerners partly
Moslem and partly Roman Catholics of the Latin rite. From
this section came chiefly those Albanians who, after the death
(1467) of their valiant champion, George Castriota {Scanderbeg,
'' Alexander the Great "), fled from Turkish oppression and
formed numerous settlements, especially in Calabria and Sicily,
and still retain their national traditions.
In their original homes, located by some between the Bug
and the Dnieper, the Slavs have not only recovered from the
fierce Mongolo-Turki and Finn tornadoes, by ^^^ ^^^ .^
which the eastern steppes .were repeatedly swept
for over 1500 years after the building of the Great Wall, but
have in recent historic times displayed a prodigious power of
expansion second only to that of the British peoples. The
Russians (Great, Little, and White Russians), whose political
empire now stretches continuously from the Baltic to the
Pacific, have already absorbed nearly all the Mongol elements
in East Europe, have founded compact settlements in Caucasia
and West Siberia, and have thrown off" numerous pioneer
groups of colonists along all the highways of trade and
migration, and down the great fluvial arteries between the
Ob and the Amur estuary. They number collectively over
100 millions, with a domain of some nine million square miles.
The majority belong to Deniker's Eastern race* (a variety of
the Alpine type), being blond, sub-brachycephalic and short,
I '64 m. (5 ft. Af\ ins.). The Little Russians in the South on the
Black Mould belt are more brachycephalic and have darker
colouring and taller stature. The White Russians in the West
between Poland and Lithuania are the fairest of all.
We need not be detained .by the controversy carried on
between Sergi and Zaborowski regarding a prehistoric spread
of the Mediterranean race to Russial The skulls
from several of the old Kurgans, identified by orig^°
Sergi with his Mediterranean type, have not been
sufficiently determined as to date or cultural periods to decide
the question, while their dolicho shape is common both to the
' J. Deniker, "Les Six Races composant la Population actuelle de I'Europe,"
Journ. Anthr. Inst, xxxiv. 1904, pp. 182, 202.
2 Bui. Soc. d'Anthrop. vii. 1896.
540 Man : Past and Present [ch.
Mediterraneans and to the proto-Aryans of the North Euro-
pean type'. To this stock the proto-Slavs are affiliated by
Zaborowski and many others", although the present Slavs are
air distinctly round-headed. Ripley asks, almost in despair,
what is to be done with the present Slav element, and decides
to apply " the term Homo Alpinus to this broad-headed group
wherever it occurs, whether on mountains or plains, in the
west or in the east'."
We are beset by the same difficulties as we pass with the
Ossets of the Caucasus into the Iranian and Indian domains of
the proto-Aryan peoples. These Ossets, who are
the only aborigines of Aryan speech in Caucasia,
are by Zaborowski" identified with the Alans, who are already
mentioned in the ist century a.d. and were Scythiaris of
Iranian speech, blonds, mixed with Medes, and perhaps
descendants of the Massagetae. We know from history that
the Goths and Alans became closely united, and it may be
from the Goths that the Osset descendants of the Alans
(some still call themselves Alans) learned to brew beer. Else-
where^ Zaborowski represents the Ossets as of European
origin, till lately for the most part blonds, though now showing
many Scythian traits. But they are not physically Iranians
" despite the Iranian and Asiatic origin of their language," as
shown by Max Kowalewsky". On t,he whole, therefor-e, the
Ossets "may be taken as originally blond Europeans, closely
blended with Scythians, and later with the other modern
Caucasus peoples, who are mostly brown brachys. But Ernest
Chantre' allies these groups to their brown and brachy Tatar
neighbours, and denies that the Ossets are the last remnants
of Germanic immigrants into Caucasia.
We have therefore in the Caucasus a very curious and
puzzling phenomenon — several somewhat dis-
Aborigfne^"^ ''"'^^ groups of aborigines, mainly of de Lapouge's
Alpine type, but all except the Ossets speaking
' Hence Virchow (Meeting Ger. Anthrop. Soc. 1897) declared that the extent
and duration of the Slav encroachments in German territory could not be determined
by the old skulls, because it is impossible to say whether a given skull is Slav or not.
'^ Especially Lubor Niederle, for whom the proto-Slavs are unquestionably long-
headed blonds like the Teutons, although he admits that round skulls occur even
of old date, and practically gives up the attempt to account for the transition to the
modern Slav.
' " The Racial Geography of Europe," in Popular Science Monthly, June, 1897.
* Bui. Soc. d' Anthrop. 1896, p. 81 sq. ^ q^i 5^^, d' Anthrop. 1894, p. 36.
* Droit Coutumier OssMien, 1893.
' Quoted by Ujfalvy, L.es Aryens etc. p. 11.
i I
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 541
an amazing number of non-Aryan stock languages. Philo-
logists have been for some time hard at work in this linguistic
wilderness, the " Mountain of Languages " of the early Arabo-
Persian writers, without greatly reducing the number of
independent groups, while many idioms traceable to a single
stem still differ so profoundly from each other that they are
practically so many stocks. Of the really distinct families the
more important are : — the Kartweli of the southern slopes,
comprising the historical Georgian, cultivated since the
5th century, the Mingrelian, Imeritian, Laz of Lazistan, and
many others ; the Ckerkess (Circassian), the Abkhasian and
Kabard of the Western and Central Caucasus ; the Chechenz
and Lesghian, the Andi, the Ude, the Kubachi and Duodez of
Daghestan, i.e. the Eastern Caucasus. Where did this babel
of tongues come from ? We know that 2500 years ago the
relations were much the same as at present, because the Greeks
speak of scores of languages current in the port of Dioscurias
in their time. If therefore the aborigines are the " sweepings
of the plains," they must have been swept up long before the
historic period. Did they bring their differeiit languages with
them, or were these specialised in their new upland homes ?
The consideration that an open environment makes for uni-
formity, secluded upland valleys for diversity, seems greatly to
favour the latter assumption, which is further strengthened by
the now established fact that, although there are few traces of
the Palaeolithic epoch, the Caucasus was somewhat thickly
inhabited in the New Stone Age.
Crossing into Irania we are at once confronted with totally
different conditions. For the ethnologist this region comprises,
besides the tableland between the Tigris and
Indus, both slopes of the Hindu- Kush, and the
Paniir, with the uplands bounded south and north by the upper
courses of the Oxus and the Sir-darya. Overlooking later
Mongolo-Turki encroachments, a general survey will, I think,
show that from the earliest times the whole of this region has
formed part of the Caucasic domain ; that the bulk of the
indigenous populations must have belonged to the dark, round-
headed Alpine type ; that these, still found in compact masses
in many places, were apparently conquered, but certainly
Aryanised in speech, in very remote prehistoric times by long-
headed blond Aryans of the Iranic and Galchic branches,
who arrived in large numbers from the contiguous Eurasian
542 Man : Past and Present [cH.
steppe, mingled generally with the brachy aborigines, but also
kept aloof in several districts, where they still survive with
more or less modified proto-Aryan features. Thus we are at
once struck by the remarkable fact that absolute uniformity of
speech, always apart from late Mongol intrusions, has prevailed
during the historic period throughout Irania, which has been
in this respect as completely Aryanised as Europe itself; and
further, that all current Aryan tongues, with perhaps one trifling
exception^ are members either of .the Iranic or the Galchic
branch of the family. Both Iranic and Galchic are thus rather
linguistic than ethnic terms, and so true is this that a philo-
logist always knows what is meant by an Iranic language,
while the anthropologist is unable to define or form any clear
conception of an Iranian, who may be either of long-headed
Nordic or round-headed Alpine typie. Here confusion may be
avoided by reserving the historic name of Persian'' for the
former, and comprising all the Alpines under the also time-
honoured though less known name of Tajiks.
Khanikoff has shown that these Tajiks constitute the
primitive element in ancient Iran. To the true Persians of
.. the west, as well as to the kindred Afghans in
*■' ■ the east, both of dolicho type, the term is rarely
applied. But almost everywhere the sedentary and agri-
cultural aborigines are called Tajiks, and are spoken of as
Parsivdn, that is, Parsizabdn^, " of Persian speech," or else
Dihkdn^, that is, '' Peasants," all being mainly husbandmen'
" of Persian race and tongue*." They form endless tribal, or
at least social, groups, who keep somewhat aloof from their
proto-Aryan conquejrors, so that, in the east especially, the
' The Yagnobi of the river of hke name, an affluent of the Zerafshan ; yet even
this shows lexical affinities with Iranic, while its structure seems to connect it with
Leitner's Kajuna and Biddulph's Burish, a non-Aryan tongue current in Ghilghif,
Yasin, Hunza and Nagar, whose inhabitants are regarded by Biddulph as descen-
dants of the Yu^-chi. The Yagnobi themselves, however, are distinctly Alpines,
somewhat short, very hirsute and brown, with broad face, large head, and a Savoyard
expression. They have the curious custom of never cutting but always breaking
their bread, the use of the knife being sure to raise the price of flour.
2 F. V. Luschan points out that very little is known of the anthropology of Persia.
" In a land inhabited by about ten millions not more than twenty or thirty men have
been regularly measured and not one skull has been studied." The old type preserved
in the Parsi is short-headed and dark. "The Early Inhabitants of Western Asia,"
Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLI. 191 1, p. 233.
2 Dih, deh, village. Zabdn, tongue, language.
* H. Walter, From Indus to Tigris, p. 16. Of course this traveller refers only
to the Tajiks of the plateau (Persia, Afghanistan). Of the Galchic Tajiks he knew
nothing ; nor indeed is the distinction even yet quite understood by European
ethnologists.
xv] The Cauc^sic Peoples 543
ethnic fusion is far from complete, the various sections of the
community being still rather juxtaposed than fused in a single
nationality. When to these primeval differences is added the
tribal system still surviving in full vigour amongst
the intruding Afghans themselves, we see how ^ *°*"
impossible it is yet to speak of an Afghan nation, but only of
heterogeneous masses loosely held together by the paramount
tribe — at present the Durani of Kabul.
The Tajiks are first mentioned by Herodotus, whose
Dadikes^ are identified by Hammer and Khanikoff with them^
They are now commonly divided into Lowland, and Highland
or Hill Tajiks, of whom the former were always ParsivAn,
whereas the Hill Tajiks did not originally speak Persian at
all, but, as many still do, an independent sister language called
Galchic, current in the Pamir, Zerafshan and Sir-darya uplands,
and holding a somewhat intermediate position between the
Iranic and Indie branches.
This term Galcha, although new to science, has long been
applied to the Aryans of the Pamir Vallfeys, being identified
with the Calcienses popult of the lay Jesuit ^j^^ caicha
Benedict Goez, who crossed the Pamir in 1603,
and describes them as "of light hair and beard like the
Belgians." Meyendorff also calls those of Zerafshan " Eastern
Persians, Galchi, Galchas." The word has been explained to
mean "the hungry raven who has withdrawn to the moun-
tains," probably in reference to those Lowland Tajiks who
took refuge in the uplands, from the predatbry Turki hordes.
But it is no doubt the Persian galcha, a peasant or clown, then
a vagabond, etc., vAi^ViCO. galchagi, rudeness.
As shown by J. Biddulph', the tribes of Galchic speech
range over both slopes of the Hindu- Kush, comprising the
natives of Sarakol, Wakhan, Shignan, Munjan (with the
Yidoks of the Upper Lud-kho or Chitral river), Sanglich, and
Ishkashim. To these he is inclined to add the Pakhpus and
the Shakshus of the Upper Yarkand-darya, as well as those of
the Kocha valley, with whom must now be included the
Zerafshan Galchas (Maghians, Kshtuts, Falghars, Machas and
Fans), but not the Yagnobis. All these form also one ethnic
' III. 91.
2 Even Ptolemy's iratri.x'^i appear to be the same people, v bemg an error for r,
so that racrtxai would be the nearest possible Greek transcription of Tajik.
3 Tribes of the Hindoo- Koosh, \%Zo, passim.
544 ^'^^ •* Pci'^i ^^^ Present [ch.
group of Alpine type, with whom on linguistic grounds Bid-
dulph also includes two other groups, the Khos of Chitral
with the Siah Posh of Kafiristan, and the Shins (Dards), Gors,
Chilisi and other small tribes of the Upper Indus and side
valleys, all these apparently being long-heads of the blond
Aryan type. Keeping this distinction in view, Biddulph's
valuable treatise on the Hindu-Kush populations may be
followed with safety. He traces the Galcha idioms generally
to the old Baktrian (East Persia, so-called "Zend Avesta"),
the Shin however leaning closely to Sanskrit, while Khowar,
the speech of the Chitrali (Khos), is intermediate between
Baktrian and Sanskrit. But differences prevail on these details,
which will give occupation to philologists for some time to
come.
Speaking generally, all the Galchas of the northern slopes
(most of Biddulph's first group) are physically connected with
all the other Lowland and Hill Tajiks, with whom
TajLk^Types should also probably be included Elphinstojie's'
southern Tajiks dwelling south of the Hindu-
Kush (Kohistani, Berraki, Purmuli or Fermuli, Sirdehi,
Sistani, and others scattered over Afghanistan and northern
Baluchistan). Their type is pronouncedly Alpine, so much so
that they have been spoken of by French anthropologists as
"those belated Savoyards of Kohistan"." De Ujfalvy, who
has studied them carefully, describes them as tall, brown or
bronzed and even , white, with ruddy cheeks recalling the
Englishman, black or chestnut hair, sometimes red and even
light, smooth, wavy or curly, full b^ard, brown, ruddy or blond
(he met two brothers near Penjakend with hair " blanc comme
du lin ") ; brown, blue, or grey eyes, never oblique, long,
shapely nose slightly curved, thin, straight lips, oval face, stout,
vigorous frame, and round heads with cephalic index as high
as 86*50. This description, which is confirmed by Bonvalot
and other recent observers, applies to the Darwazi, Wakhi,
Badakhshi, and in fact all the groups, so that we have beyond
all doubt an eastern extension of the Alpine brachycephalic
zone through Armenia and the Bakhtiari uplands to the
Central Asiatic highlands, a conclusion confirmed by the
explorations of M. A. Stein in Chinese Turkestan and the
' An Account of the Kingdom ofCaubul, 1815.
2 "Ces Savoyards attardds du Kohistan" (Ujfalvy, Les Aryens etc.).
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 545
Pamirs ( 1 900-8) \ I ndeed this Asiatic extension of the Alpine
type incHnes v. Luschan' to regard the European branch as
one offshoot, and the high and narrow (" Hittite") nosed type
as another, or rather as a specialised group, of which the
Armenians, Persians, Druses, and other sectarian groups of
Syria and Asia Minor represent the purest examples. Ac-
cording to his summary of this complicated region "All
Western Asia was originally inhabited by a homogeneous
melanochroic race, with extreme hypsi-brachycephaly and
with a 'Hittite' nose. About 4000 b.c. began a Semitic
invasion from the south-east, probably from Arabia, by people
looking like the modern Bedawy. Two thousand years later
commenced a second invasion, this time from the north-west,
by xanthrochroous and long-headed tribes like the modern
Kurds, half savage, and in some way or other, perhaps, con-
nected with the historic Harri, Amorites, Tamehu and
Galatians'."
But the eventful drama is not yet closed. Arrested perhaps
for a time by the barrier of the Hindu-Kush and SulimAn
ranges, proto-Aryan conquerors burst at last. Ethnic Re-
probably through the Kabul river gorges, on to lations in
the plains of India, and thereby added another ^"^'*'
world to the Caucasic domain. Here they were brought face
to face with new conditions, which gave rise to fresh changes
and adaptations resulting in the present ethnical relations in
the peninsula. There is good reason to think that in this
region the leavening Aryan element never was numerous,
while even on their first arrival the Aryan invaders found the
land already somewhat thickly peopled by the aborigines'.
The marked linguistic and ethnical differences between
Eastern and Western Hindustan have given rise to the theory
of two separate streams of immigration, perhaps continued
1 The anthropological data are dealt with by T. A. Joyce, "Notes on the Physical
Anthropology of Chinese Turkestan and the Pamirs," Journ. Roy. Anthr. InsL
XLII. 1912. "The original inhabitant. ..is that type of man described by Lapouge
as Homo Alpinus," p. 468.
'^ F. V. Luschan, "The Early Inhabitants of ksa^' Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst,
XLI. 191 1, p. 243.
3 For the evidence of the extension of this element in East Central Asia see
Ch. IX.
* R. B. Foote, Madras Government Museum. The Foote Collection of Indian
Prehistoric and Protohistoric Antiquities. Notes on their ages and distribution.,
1916, is the most recent contribution to the prehistoric period, but the conclusions
are not universally accepted.
K. 35
54^ Man: Past and Present [ch.
over many centuries \ The eariier entered from the north-
west, bringing their herds and families with them, whose
descendants are the homogeneous and handsome populations
of the Punjab and Rajputana. Later swarms entered by way
of the difficult passes of Gilgit and Chitral, a route which made
it impossible for their women to accompany them. " Here they
came in contact with the Dravidians ; here by the stress of
that contact caste was evolved ; here the Vedas were composed
and the whole fantastic structure of orthodox ritual and usage
was built up. . . . The men of the stronger race took to themselves
women of the weaker, and from these unions was evolved the
mixed type which we find in Hindustan and Biharl"
An attempt to analyse the complicated ethnic elements
contained in the vast area of India was made by
of Types!^°" ^- ^- Risley^ who recognised seven types, his
classification being based on theories of origin.
1. The Turko-Iranian type, including the Baloch,
Brahui, and Afghans of Baluchistan and the North- West
Frontier Provinces, all Muhammadans, with broad head, long
prominent nose, abundant hair, fair complexion and tall stature.
2. Indo-Aryan type in the Punjab, Rajputana and
Kashmir, with its most conspicuous members the Rdjputs,
Khatri and Jdts in all but colour closely resembling the
European type and showing little difference between upper and
lower social strata. Their characteristics are tall stature, fair
complexion, plentiful hair on face, long head, and narrow
prominent nose.
3. Aryo-Dra VIDIAN or Hindustani type in the United
Provinces, parts of Rajputana, Bihar, and Ceylon, with lower
stature, variable complexion, longish head, and a nose index
exactly corresponding to social station.
4. Scytho-Dravidian of Western India, including the
Maratha Brahmans, Kunbi, and Coorgs, of medium stature,
fair complexion, broad head with scanty hair on the face, and
a fine nose.
1 A. F. R. Hoernle, A Grammar of Eastern Hindi compared with the other
Gaudian Languages, 1880, first suggested (p. xxxi. fF.) the distinction between the
languages of the Midland and the Outer Band, which has been corroborated by
G. A. Grierson, Languages of India, 1903, p. Si ; Imperial Gazetteer of India,
1907-8, Vol. I. pp. 357-8.
^ H. H. Risley, The People of India, 1908, p. 54. See also J. D. Anderson, The
Peoples of India, 191 3, p. 27.
^ Tribes and Castes of Bengal ^tc. 1892, Indian Census Report, 1901, and Imperial
Gazetteer, Vol. I. ch. vi.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 547
5. Dravidian, generally regarded as representing the
indigenous element. The characteristics are fairly uniform
from Ceylon to the Ganges valley throughout Madras, Hyde-
rabad, the Central Provinces, Central India and Chota Nagpur,
and the name is now used to include the mass of the population
unaffected by foreign (Aryan, Scythian, Mongoloid) immi-
gration. The Nairs of Malabar and the Santal of Chota
Nagpur are typical representatives. The stature is short,
complexion very dark, almost black, hair plentiful with a
tendency to curl, head long and nose very broad \
6. Mongolo-Dravidian or Bengali type of Bengal and
Orissa, showing fusion with Tibeto-Burman elements. The
stature is medium, complexion dark, and head conspicuously
broad, nose variable.
7. Mongoloid of the Himalayas, Nepal, Assam, and
Burma, represented by the Kanet of Lahoul and Kulu, the
Lepcha of Darjiling, the Limbu, Murmi and GurungoS. Nepal,
the Bodo of Assam and the Burmese. The stature is short, the
complexion dark with a yellowish tinge, the hair on the face
scanty. The head is broad with characteristic flat face and
frequently oblique eyes.
This classification while more or less generally adopted in
outline is not allowed to pass unchallenged, especially with
regard to the theories of origin implied. Concerning the
brachycephalic elenient of Western India Risley's belief that
it was the result of so-called " Scythian " invasions is not
supported by sufficient evidence. " The foreign element is
certainly Alpine, not Mongolian, and it may be due to a
migration of which the history has not been written^" Rama-
prasad Chanda' goes further and traces the broad-headed
elements in both " Scytho-Dravidians " (Gujaratis, Marathas
and Coorgs) and " Mongolo-Dravidians" (Bengalis and
Oriyas) to one common source, " the Homo alpinus of the
Pamirs and Chinese Turkestan," and attempts to reconstruct
the history of the migration of the Alpine invaders from
Central Asia over Gujarat, Deccan, Bihar and Bengal. His
conclusions are supported by the reports of Sir Aurel Stein of
the Homo Alpinus type discovered in the region of Lob Nor,
1 The jungle tribes of this group, such as the Paniyan, Kurumba and Irula
are classed as Pre-Uravidian. See chap. xii.
2 A. C. Haddon, Wanderings of Peoples, igii, p. 27.
3 The Indo-Aryan Races, 1916, pp. 65-71 and 75-78.
35—2
54^ Man: Past and Present [ch.
dating from the first centuries a,d. This type " still supplies
the prevalent element in the racial constitution of the indige-
nous population of Chinese Turkestan, and is seen in its purest
form in the Iranian-speaking tribes near thePamirs^"
But any scheme of classification must be merely tentative,
subject to modification as statistics of, the vast area are
gradually collected. And W. Crooke^ while acknowledging
the value of Risley's scheme" points out the need of caution in
accepting measurements of skull and nose forms applied to the
mixed races and half-breeds which form the majority of the
people. " The race migrations are all prehistoric, and the amal-
gamation of the races has continued for ages among a people to
whom moral restraints are irksome and unfamiliar. The existing
castes are quite a modern creation, dating only from the later
Buddhist age." "The present population thus represents the
flotsam and jetsam collected from many streams of ethnical
movement, and any attempt to sort out the existing races into
a set of pigeon-holes, each representing a defined type of race,
is, in the present state of our knowledge, impossible^"
In features, says Dalton, the Kols° show "much variety,
and I think in a great many families there is a considerable
admixture of Aryan blood. Many have high
noses and oval faces, and young girls ^re at times
1 " A Third Journey oif Exploration in Central Asia 1913-16," Geog. Journ. 1916.
^ Natives of Northern India, 1907, pp. 19, 24. See also his article "Rajputs
and Marathas," Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XL. 1910.
' " His report, compiled during the inevitable distractions incident to the
enumeration of a, population of some 300 millions, was a notable performance, and
will remain one of the classics of Indian anthropology." " The Stability of Caste
and Tribal Groups in Indca." Journ. Roy. Anthr. Inst. XLiv. 1914, p. 270.
* A vast amount of material has been collected in recent years besides Ethno-
graphical Surveys of the various provinces, the Imperial Gazetteer of 1909, and the
magnificent Census Reports of igoi and 1911. Some of the more important works
are as follows : — H. H. Risley, Ethnography of India, 1903, The People of India,
1908; E. Thurston, Ethnographical Notes on Southern India, 1906, Castes and
Tribes of Southern India, 1909 ; H. A. Rose, Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of
the Punjab and N. W. Frontier Province, 1911 ; E. A. de Brett, Gazetteer, Chhatis-
garh Feudatory States, 1909; C. E. Luard, Ethnographic Survey, Central India,
1909; L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, 7%« Cochin Tribes and Castis, 1909, Tribes and
Castes of Cochin, 191 2; M. Longworth Dames, The Baloch Race, 1904; W. H. R.
Rivers, The_ Todas, 1906; P. R. T. Gurdon, The Khasis, 1907; T. C. Hodson, The
Meitheis, 1908, The Naga Tribes of Manipur, 191 1 ; E. Stack and C. J. Lyall, The
Mikirs, 1908; A. Playfair, The Garos, 1909; S. Endle, The Kachaiis,\<)ii; C. G.
and B. Z. Seligman, The Veddas, 1911; J. Shakespear, The Lushei Kuki Clans,
1912 ; S. Chandra, Roy, The Mundas and their Country, 1912, The Oraons, 1915 ;
and R. V. Russell, Tribes and Castes of the N.W. Central Provinces, 1916.
' The term Kol, which occurs as an element in a great many tribal names, and
was first introduced by Campbell in a collective sense (1866), is of unknown origin,
but probably connected with a root meaning "Man " (W. Crooke, Tribes and Castes,
III. p. 294).
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 549
met with who have delicate and regular features, finely-chiselled
straight noses, and perfectly formed mouths and chins. The
eyes, however, are seldom so large, so bright, and gazelle-like
as those of pure Hindu maidens, and I have met strongly
marked Mongolian features. In colour they vary greatly, the
copper tints being about the most common [though the Mir-
zapur Kols are very dark]. Eyes dark brown, hair black,
straight or wavy [as all over India]. Both men and women
are noticeable for their fine, erect carriage and long,free stride'."
The same variations are found among the Dravidians,
where, as should be expected, there are many aberrant groups
showing divergences in all directions, as amongst .
the Kurumba and Toda of the Nilgiris, the *
former approximating to the Mongol, thg"~ktter to the Aryan
standard. W. Sikemeier, who lived amongst them for years,
notes that " many of the Kurumbas have decided Mongoloid
face and stature, and appear to be the aborigines of that region^"
The same correspondent adds that much nonsense has been
written about the Todas, who have become the trump card
of popular ethnographists. " Being ransacked by European
visitors they invent all kinds of traditions, which they found
out their questioners liked to get, and for which they were
paid." Still the type is remarkable and strikingly European,
"well proportioned and stalwart, with straight nose, regular
features and perfect teeth," the chief characteristic being the
development of the hairy system, less however than amongst
the Ainu, whom they so closely resemble^ From the illustra-
tions given in Thurston's valuable series one might be tempted
to infer that a group of proto-Aryans had reached this extreme
limit of their Asiatic domain, and although W. H. R. Rivers
has cleared away the mystery and established links between
the Todas and tribes of Malabar and Travancore, the problem
of their origin is not yet entirely solved*.
The Dravidians occupy the greater part of the Deccan,
where they are constituted in a few great nations — Telugus
(Telingas), Tamils (numbers of whom have crossed into Ceylon
and occupied the northern and central parts of that island,
working in the coffee districts), Kanarese, and the Malayalim
' Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, p. 190.
'^ \n2L letter to the author, June 18, 1895.
2 Edgar Thurston, Anthropology etc., Bui. 4, Madras, 1896, pp. 147-8. For
fuller details see his Castes and Tribes of S. India, 1909,
* The Todas, 1906. See chap. xxx. "The Origin and History of the Todas."
550 Man: Past and Present [ch.
of the west coast. These with some othiers were brought at
an early date under Aryan (Hindu) influences, but have pre-
served their highly agglutinating Dravidian speech, which has
no known affinities elsewhere, unless perhaps with the language
of the Brahuis, who are regarded by many as belated Dravidians
left behind in East Baluchistan.
But for this very old, but highly cultivated Dravidian
language, which is still spoken by about 54 millions between
Dravidian and the Ganges and Ceylon, it would no longer be
Aryan possible to distinguish these southern Hindus
Languages. from those of Aryan speech who occupy all the
rest of the peninsula together with the southern slopes of the
Hindu-Kush and parts of the western Himalayas. Their main
divisions are the Kashmiri, many of whom might be called
typical Aryans ; the Punjabis with several sub-groups, amongst
which are the Sikhs, religious sectaries half Moslem half Hindu,
also of magnificent physique ; the Gujaratis, Mahratis, Hindis,
Bengalis, Assamis, and Oraons of Orissa, all speaking Neo-
Sanskritic idioms, which collectively constitute the Indie branch
of the Aryaa family. Hindustani or Urdu, a simplified form
of Hindi current especially in the Doab, or "Two waters,"
the region between the Ganges and Jumna above Allahabad,
has become a sort of lingua franca, the chief medium of inter-
course throughout the peninsula, and is understood by certainly
over 100 millions, while all the population of Neo-Sanskritic
speech numbered in 1898 considerably over 200 millions.
Classification derives little help from the consideration of
caste, whatever view be taken of the origin of this institution.
The rather obvious theory that it was introduced
Castes"* " ^y ^^ handful of Aryan conquerors to prevent
the submergence of the race in the great ocean
of black or dark aborigines, is now rejected by many in-
vestigators, who hold that its origin is occupational, a question
rather of social or industrial pursuits becoming hereditary in
family groups than of race distinctions sanctioned by religion.
They point out that the commentator's interpretation of the
Pancha Ksitaya, " Five Classes," as Brdhmans (priests),
Kshatriyas (fighters), Vaisya (traders), Sudra (peasants and
craftsmen of all kinds), and Ntshdda (savages or outcasts) is
recent, and conveys only the current sentiment of the age.
It never had any substantial base, and even in the compara-
tively late Institutes of Manu " the rules of food, connubium
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 551
and intercourse between the various castes are very different
from what we find at present " ; also that, far from being
eternal and changeless, caste has been subject to endless
modifications throughout the whole range of Hindu myth and
history. Nor is it an institution peculiar to India, while even
here the stereotyped four or five divisions neither accord with
existing facts, nor correspond to so many distinct ethnical
groups.
All this is perfectly true, and it is also true that for
generations the recognised castes, say, social pursuits, have
been in a state of constant flux, incessantly undergoing pro-
cesses of segmentation, so that their number is at present past'
counting. Nevertheless, the system may have been, and
probably was, first inspired by racial motives, an instinctive
sense of self-preservation, which expressed itself in an informal
way by local class distinctions which were afterwards sanctioned
by religion, but eventually broke down or degenerated into
the present relations under the outward pressure of imperious
social necessities'.
Beyond the mainland and Ceylon no Caucasic peoples of
Aryan speech are known to have ranged in neolithic or pre-
historic times. But we have already followed
the migrations of a kindred', though mixed race, in^esians.
here called Ini/onesians, into Malaysia, the
Philippines, Formosa, and the Japanese Archipelago, which
they must have occupied in the New Stone Age. Here there
occurs a great break, for they are not again met till we reach
Micronesia and the still more remote insular groups beyond
Melanesia. In Micronesia the relations are ex- ,,.
, . , , , . Micronesians.
tremely confused, because, as it seems, this group
had already been occupied by the Papuans from New Guinea
before the arrival of the Indonesians, while after their arrival
they were followed at intervals by Malays perhaps from the
Philippines and Formosa, and still later by Japanese, if not
also by Chinese from the mainland. Hence the types are
here as varied as the colour, which appears, going eastwards,
to shade off from the dark brown of the Pelew and Caroline
Islanders to the light brown of the Marshall and Gilbert groups,
1 For the discussion of Caste see E. A. Gait's article in Ency. of Religion and
Ethics, 1910, with bibliography ; also V. A. Smith, Caste in India, East and West,
1013. ' ^ See Ch. VII.
552 Man : Past and Present [ch.
where we already touch upon the skirts of the true Indonesian
domain'.
A line drawn athwart the Pacific from New Zealand
through Fiji to Hawaii will roughly cut off this domain from
the rest of the Oceanic world, where all to the
oynesians. ^ggj jg Melanesian, Papuan or mixed, while all
to the right — Maori, some of the eastern Fijians, Tongans,
Santoans, Tahitians, Marquesans, Hawaiians and Easter
Islanders— \s, grouped under the name Polynesian, a type
produced by a mixture of ProtO- Malayan and Indonesian.
Dolichocephaly and mesaticephaly prevail throughout the
'region, but there are brachycephalic centres in Tonga, the
Marquesas and Hawaiian Islands. The hair is mostly black
and straight, but also wavy, though never frizzly or even
kinky. The colour also is of a light brown compared to
cinnamon or cafi6-au-lait, and sometimes approaching an almost
white shade, while the tall stature averages 172m. {5 ft. 7f ins.).
Migrating at an unknown date eastwards from the East
Indian archipelago ^ the first permanent settlements appear
to have been formed in Samoa, and more par-
ticularly in the island of Savaii, originally Sa-
vaiki, which name under divers forms and still more divers
meanings accompanied all their subsequent migrations over
the Pacific waters. Thus we have in Tahiti Havaii^, the
" universe," and the old capital of Raiatea ; in Rarotonga
Avaiki, "the land under the wind" ; in New Zealand Hawaiki,
"the land whence came the Maori " ; in the Marquesas Havaiki,
"the lower regions of the dead," as in to fenua Havaiki, "re-
turn to the land of thy forefathers," the words with which the
victims in human sacrifices were speeded to the other world ;
lastly in Hawaii, the name of the chief island of the Sandwich
group.
The Polynesians are cheerful, dignified, polite, imaginative
and intelligent, varying in temperament between the wild .and
energetic and politically capable Maori to his
Culture^'*" indolent and politically sterile kinsmen to the
north, who have been unnerved by the unvarying
1 See A. Kramer, Hawaii, Ostmikronesien und Samoa, 1906.
^ For Polynesian wanderings see S. Percy Smith, Hawaiki: the original home
of the Maori, 1904; J. M. Brown, Maori and Polynesian; their origin, history and
culture, 1907; W. Churchill, The Polynesian Wanderings, 1911.
' H everywhere takes the place of S, which is preserved only in the Samoan
mother-tongue ; cf. Gr. kina with Lat. septem, Eng. seven.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 553
uniformity of temperature. Wherever possible, they are agri-
culturalists, growing yams, sweet potatoes and taro. Coconuts,
bread-fruit and bananas form the staple food in many islands.
Scantily endowed with fertile soil and edible plants the Poly-
nesians have gained command over the sea which everywhere
surrounds them, and have developed into the best seamen
among primitive races. Large sailing double canoes were
formerly in use, and single canoes with an outrigger are still
made. Native costume for men is made of bark cloth, and
for women ample petticoats of split and plaited leaves. Orna-
ments, with the exception of flowers, are sparingly worn.
The bow and arrow are unknown, short spears, clubs and
slings are used, but no shields. The arts of writing, pottery
making, loom-weaving and the use of metals were, with few
exceptions, unknown, but mat-making, basketry and the making
of tapa were carried to a high pitch, and Polynesian bark-cloth
is the finest in the world.
Throughout Polynesia the community is divided into nobles
or chiefs, freemen and slaves, which divisions are, by reason
of tabu, as sharp as those of caste. They fall into those which
participate in the divine, and those which are wholly excluded
from it. Women have a high position, and men do their fair
share of work. Polygyny is universal, being limited only by
the wealth of the husband, or the numerical preponderance
of the men. Priests have considerable influence, there are
numerous gods, sometimes worshipped in the outward form of
idols, and ancestors are deified.
Polynesian culture has been analysed by W. H. R. Rivers',
and the following briefly summarises his results. At first sight
the culture appears very simple, especially as regards language
and social structure, while there is a considerable degree of
uniformity in religious belief Everywhere we find the same
kind of higher being or god and the resemblance extends even
to the name, usually some form of the word atua. In material
culture also there are striking similarities, though here the
variations are more definite and obvioiis, and the apparent
uniformity is probably due to the attention given to the customs
of chiefs, overlooking the culture of the ordinary people where
more diversity is discoverable.
There is much that points to the twofold nature of Poly-
nesian culture. The evidence from the study of the ritual
' The History of Melanesian Society, 1914.
554 Man : Past and Present [ch.
indicates the presence of two peoples, an earlier "who interfed
their dead in a sitting posture like the dual people of Melanesia^
and a later, who became chiefs and believed in the need for
the preservation of the dead among the living. All.the evidence
available, physical and cultural, points to the conjecture that
the early stratum of the population of Polynesia was formed
by an immigrant people who also found their way to Melanesia.
The later stream of settlers can be identified with the kava-
people\ Kava was drunk especially by the chiefs, aqd the
accompanying ceremonial shows its connection with the higher
ranks of the people. The close association of the Areoi (secret
society) of eastern Polynesia with the chiefs is further proof.
Thus both in Melanesia and in Polynesia the chiefs who pre-
served their dead are identified with the founders of secret
societies — organisations which came into being through the
desire of an immigrant people to practise their religious rites
in secret. Burial in the extended position occurs in Tikopia,
Tonga and Samoa — perhaps it may have been the custom of
some special group of the kava-people. Chiefs were placed
in vaults constructed of large stones — a feature unknown else-
where in Oceania. It is safe also to ascribe the human design
which has undergone conventionalisation in Polynesia to the
kava-people. The geometric art through which the conven-
tionalisation was produced belonged to the earlier inhabitants
who interred their dead in the sitting position.
Money, if it exists at all, occupies a very unimportant place
in the culture of the people. There is no evidence of the use of
any object in Polynesia with the definite scale
CommiM^ of values which is possessed by several kinds
of money in Melanesia. The Polynesians are
largely communistic, probably more so than the Melanesians,
and afford one of the best examples of communism in property
with which we are acquainted. This feature may be ascribed
to the earlier settlers. The suggestion that the kava-people
never formed independent communities in Polynesia, but were
accepted at once as chiefs of those among whom they settled
would account for the absence of money (for which there was
no need), and the failure to disturb in any great measure the
communism of the earlier inhabitants. Communism in property
was associated with sexual communism. There is evidence
that Polynesian chiefs rarely had more than one wife, while
1 Cf. p. 139 flf.
xv] The Caucasic Peoples 555
the licentiousness which probably stood in a definite relation
to the communism of the people is said to have been more
pronounced among the lower strata of the community. Both
communism and licentiousness appear to have been much less
marked in the Samoan and Tongan islands, and here there is
no evidence of interment in the sitting position. These and
other facts support the view that the influence of the kava-
people was greater here than in the more eastern islands:
probably it was greatest in Tikopia, which in many respects
differs from other parts of Polynesia.
Magic is altogether absent from the culture of Tikopia
and it probably took a relatively unimportant place throughout
Polynesia. In Tikopia the ghosts of dead an-
cestors and relatives as well as animals are atua Religion?^
and this connotation of the word appears to be
general in other parts of Polynesia. These may be regarded
as the representatives of the ghosts and spirits of Melanesia.
The vui of Melanesia may be represented by the tii of Tahiti,
beings not greatly respected, who had to some extent a local
character. This comparison suggests that the ancestral ghosts
belong to the culture of the kava-people, and that the local
spirits are derived from the culture of the people who interred
their dead in the sitting position, from which people the dual
people of Melanesia derived their beliefs and practices.
To sum up. Polynesian culture is made up of at least two
elements, an earlier, associated with the practice of interring
the dead in a sitting position, communism, geometric art, local
spirits and magical rites, and a later, which practised preserva-
tion of the dead. These latter may be identified with the
kava-people while the earlier Polynesian stratum is that which
entered into the composition of the dual-people of Melanesia
at a still earlier date, and introduced the Austronesian language
into Oceania \
1 Among recent works on Polynesia see H. Mager, Le Monde polynisien, 1902;
B. H. Thomson, Savage Island, 1902 ; A. Kramer, Die Samoa-Inseln, 1902; J. M.
Brown, Maori and Polynesian, 1907 ; G. Brown, Melanesians and Polynesians,
1910; F. W. Christian, Eastern Pacific Islands, 1910.
APPENDIX A. (p. 5)
Since the first few pages of this book were in print an im-
portant memoir on th^ "Phylogeny of Recent and Extinct
Anthropoids with Special Reference to the Origin of Man"
has been published by W. K. Gregory {Bull. Am. Mus. Nat.
Hist. Vol. XXXV., Article XIX, pp. 258 ff., New York, 1916).
As Gregory's lucid statement of the problems involved is based
on a prolonged examination of very varied and abundant
material we have considered it advisable to present his summary.
The chief conclusions, which appear to be of a conservative
character, are as follows (p. 341).
The Origin of Man.
1. Comparative anjatomical (including embryological) evidence
alone has shown that man and the anthropoids have been derived
from a primitive anthropoid stock and that man's existing relatives
are the chimpanzee and the gorilla.
2. The chimpanzee and gorilla have retained, with only minor
changes, the ancestral habits and habitus in brain, dentition, skull and
limbs, while the forerunners of the Hominidae, throOgh a profound
change in function, lost the primitive anthropoid habitus, gave up ar-
boreal frugivorous adaptations and early became terrestrial, bipedal
and predatory, using crude flints to cut up and smash the varied food.
3. The ancestral chimpanzee-gorilla-man stock appears to be repre-
sented by the Upper Miocene genera Sivapithecus and Dryopithecus,
the former more closely allied to, or directly ancestral to, the Homi-
nidae, the latter to the chimpanzee and gorilla.
4. Many of the differences that separate man from anthropoids of
the Sivapithecus type are retrogressive changes, following the profound
change in food habits above noted. Here belong the retraction of the
face and dental arch, the reduction in size of the canines, the reduction
of the jaw muscles, the loss of the prehensile character of the hallux.
Many other differences are secondary adjustments in relative propor-
tions, connected with the change from semi-arboreal, semi-erect and
semi-quadrupedal progression to fully terrestrial bipedal progression.
The earliest anthropoids being of small size doubtless had slender limbs ;
later semi-terrestrial semi-erect forms were probably not unlike a very
young gorilla, with fairly short legs and not excessively elongate arms.
The long legs and short arms of man are due, I believe, to a secondary
readjustment of proportions. The very short legs and very long arms
of old male gorillas may well be a specialization.
Appendix 557
5. At present I know no good evidence for believing that the se-
paration of the Hominidae from the Simiidce toolt place any earlier than
the Miocene, and probably the Upper Miocene. The change in struc-
ture during this vast interval (two or more million years) is much
greater in the Hominidae than in the conservative anthropoids, but it
is not unlikely that during a profound change of life habits evolution
sometimes proceeds more rapidly than in the more familiar cases where
uninterrupted adaptations proceed in a single direction.
6. Homo heidelbergensis appears to be directly ancestral to all the
later Hominidae.
On the evolution of human food habits .
While all the great apes are , prevailingly frugivorous, and even
their forerunners in the Lower Oligocene have the teeth well adapted
for piercing the tough rinds of fruits and for chewing vegetable food,
yet they also appear to have at least a latent capacity for a mixed
diet. The digestive tract, especially of the chimpanzee and gorilla, is
essentially similar to that of man and at least some captive chimpan-
zees thrive upon a mixed diet including large quantities of fruits,
vegetables and bread and small quantities of meat'. Mr R. L. Garner,
who has spent many years in studying the African anthropoids' in
their wild state, states^ that " their foods are mainly vegetable, but
that flesh is an essential part of their diet." Other observers state'
that the gorilla and chimpanzee greedily devour young birds as well
as eggs, vermin and small rodents.
Even the existing anthropoids, although highly conservative both
in brain development and general habits, show the beginning of the
use of the hands, and trained anthropoids can perform quite elaborate
acts. At a time when tough-rined tubers and fruits were still the main
element of the diet the nascent Hominidae may have sought out the
lairs and nesting places of many animals for the purpose of stealing
the young and thus they may have learned to fight with and kill the
enraged parents. They had also learned to fight in protecting their own
nesting places and young. And possibly they killed both by biting, as
in carnivores, and by strangling, or, in the case of a small animal, by
dashing it violently down.
We may conceive that the Upper Tertiary ape-men, in the course
of their dispersal from a south central Asiatic centre*, entered regions
where flint-bearing formations were abundant. In some way they
learned perhaps that these " Eolith " flints could be used to smash
open the head of a small strangled animal, to crack open tough vege-
tables, or to mash substances into an edible condition. Much later,
after the mental association of hand and flint had been well established,
' A. Keith, "On the Chimpanzees and their Relationship to the Gorilla," Proc.
•Zool. Soc. London, 1899, I. p. 296.
2 Science, Vol. XLll. Dec. 10, 1915, p. 843.
3 A. H. Kezxic, Ethnology, 1901, p. iii.
* W. D. Matthew, "Climate and Evolution," Ann. New York Acad. Set. XXiv.
1915, pp. 210, 214.
558 Man: Past and Present
they may have struck at intruders with the flints with which they were
preparing their food and in this way they may have learned to use the
heavier flints as hand axes and daggers. At a very early date they
learned to throw down heavy stones upon an object to smash it, and
this led finally to the hurling of flints at men and small game. Very
early also they had learned to swing a heavy piece of wood or a heavy
bone as a weapon. For all such purposes shorter and stoqkier arms
are more advantageous than the long slender arms of a semi-quadru-
pedal ancestral stage and I have argued above (p. 333) that a second-
ary shortening and thickening of the arms ensued.
One of the first medium-sized animals that the nascent Hominidse
would be successful in killing was the wild boar, which in the Pleisto-
cene had a wide Palaearctic distribution.
From the very first the ape-men were more or less social in habits
and learned to hunt in packs. Whether the art of hunting began in
south central Asia or in Europe, perhaps one of the first large animals
that men learned to kill after they had invaded the open country was
the horse, because, when a pack of men had surrounded a horse, a
single good stroke with a coup-de-poing upon the brain-case might be
sufficient to kill it.
I have argued above (p. 321) that the retraction of the dental arch
and the reduction of the canines is not consistent with the use of meat
as food, because men learned to use rough flints, in place of their teeth,
to tear the flesh and to puncture the bones, and because the erect in-
cisors, short canines and bicuspids \vere highly eff"ective in securing a
powerful hold upon the tough hide and connective tissue. It must be
remembered that with a given muscular power small teeth are more
easily forced into meat than large teeth.
After every feast there would be a residuum of hide and bones which
would gradually assume economic value. The hides of animals were
at first rudely stripped off simply to get at the meat. Small sharp-
edged natural flints could be used for this purpose as well as to cut
the sinews and flesh. After a time it was found that the furry sides of
these hides were useful to cover the body at night or during a storm.
Thus the initial stage in the making of clothes may have been a bi-
product of the hunting habit.
Dr Matthew {loc, cit. pp. 211, 212) has well suggested that man
may have learned to cover the body with the skins of animals in a cool
temperate clittiate (such as that on the northern slopes of the Hima-
layas) and that afterward they were able to invade colder regions. The
use of rough skins to cover the body must have caused exposure to
new sources of annoyance and infection, but we cannot affirm that
natural selection was the cause of the reduction of hair on the body
and of the many correlated modifications of glandular activity. We
can only affirm that a naked race of mammals must surely have had
hairy ancestors and that the loss of hair on the body was probably
subsequent to the adoption of predatory habits.
The food habits of the early Hominidse, and thus indirectly the
jaws and teeth, were later modified through the use of fire for softening
Appendix ' 559
the food. Men had early learned to huddle round the dying embers
of forest fires that had been started by lightning, to feed the fire-monster
with branches, and to carry about firebrands. They learned eventually
that frozen meat could be softened by exposing it to the fire. Thus
the broiling and roasting of meat and vegetables might be learned
even before the ways of kindling fire through percussion and friction
had been discovered. But the full art of cooking and the subsequent
stages in the reduction of the jaws and teeth in the higher races pro-
bably had to await the development of vessels for holding hot water,
perhaps in neolithic times.
This account of the evolution of the food habits of the Hominidae
will probably be condemned by experimentalists, who have adduced
strong evidence for the doctrine that "acquired characters " cannot be
inherited. But, whatever the explanation may be, it is a fact that prq-
gressive changes in food-habits and correlated changes in structure
have occurred in thousands of phyla, the history of which is more or
less fully known. Nobody with a practical knowledge of the mechanical
interactions of the upper and lower teeth of mammals, or of the pro-
gressive changes in the evolution of shearing and grinding teeth, can
doubt that the dentition has ewolved pari passu with changes in food
habits. Whether, as commonly supposed, the food habits changed be-
fore the dentition, or vice versa, the evidence appears to show that the
Hominidae passed through the following stages of evolution :
1. A chiefly frugivorous stage, with large canines and parallel rows
of cheek teeth (cf. Sivapithecus).
2. A predatory, omnivorous stage, with reduced canines and con-
vergent tooth rows (cf Homo heidelbergensis).
3. A stage in which the food is softened by cooking and the den-
tition is more or less reduced in size and retrograde in character, as in
modernized types of H. sapiens.
The following is an abbreviation of Gregory's arrangement
of the Primates (pp. 266, 267).
Order Primates
Suborder Lemuroidea
Suborder Anthropoidea
Series Platyrrhinse [New World monkeys]
Fam. Cebidae
Fam. Hapalidse [Marmosets]
Series Catarrhinae [Old World monkeys]
Fam. Parapithecidai [extinct]
Fam. Cercopithecidae
Fam. Simiidae
Sub-fam. Hylobatinae [Gibbons]
Sub-fam. Simiinae [Simians or Anthropoid apes]
By the courtesy of the author we are permitted to repro-
duce his provisional diagram of the phylogeny of the Hominidae
and Simiidae (p. zzi)-
56o
Man : Past and Present
HQfjlMID>g
-WW. found in Asia
.. .. fljrica
_^^^^ (> ■• &urope
The following explanation is offered for the convenience
of those who may not be familiar with the technical terms
here employed.
Simia, the genus containing the orang-utan.
Pan, a name occasionally employed for the genus containing the chim-
panzee. Most authorities place the chimpanzee and the gorilla in
•■ the genus Anthropopithecus.
Hylobatince, the sub-family containing the gibbons.
PalcBopithecus, Dryopithecus, PcUczosimia, and Sivapithecus are extinct
simians.
Pan vetus is the name suggested by Miller' for the supposed chimpan-
zee whose jaw was found associated with the Piltdown cranium.
He* says " The Piltdown remains include parts of a brain-case
showing fundamental characters not hitherto known except in
members of the genus Homo, and a mandible, two molars, and an
upper canine showing equally diagnostic features hitherto un-
known, except in members of the genus Pan [Anthropopithecus].
On the evidence furnished by these characters the fossils must be
supposed to represent either a single individual belonging to an
1 Gerrit S. Miller, "The Jaw of Piltdown Man," Smithsonian Misc. Coll. Vol. 65,
No. 12, 1915.
Appendix 561
otherwise unknown extinct genus (Eoanthropus) or to two indivi-
duals belonging to two now-existing families (Hominidce and Pon-
gidce)" He argues that the jaw was actually that of a chimpanzee
and that the cranium was that of a true man, whom he terms
Homo Dawsoni. Gregory accepts this hypothesis. W. P. Pycraft^
has submitted Miller's data and conclusions to searching criticism
and bases his deductions on far more ample material than that
at the disposal of Miller. He says " That the Piltdown jaw does
present many points of striking resemblance to that of the chim-
panzee is beyond dispute. Dr Smith Woodward pointed out these
resemblances long ago, in his original description of the jaw. But
Mr Miller contends that because of these resemblances therefore
it is the jaw of a chimpanzee " {loc. cit. p. 408). Pycraft points out
that there is more variability in the jaws of chimpanzees than
Miller was aware of. and that most of the features of the Piltdown
jaw are well within the limits of human variation ; in discussing
the conformation of the inner surface of the body of the jaw he
says " Between the two extremes seen in the jaws of chimpanzees
every gradation will be found, but in no case would there be any
possibility of confusing the Piltdown fragment, or any similar
fragment of a modern human jaw, with similar fragments of chim-
panzee jaws " (p. 407).
> "The Jaw of the Piltdown Man, a Reply to Mr Gerrit S. Miller," Science
Progress, No. 43, 1917, p. 389.
36
INDEX
Thanks are due to Hilary and Patrick Quiggin for help in the preparation,
and to Miss L. Whitehouse for help in the revision, of the index.
Ababdeh, the, 483
Abaka, the, 78
Abbadie, A. d', 123
Abbot, W. J. L., 7
Abipone, the, 420
Abkhasian language, the, 541
Abnaki,the,3S4,37S,andmap,pp.334— S
Abo, the, 117
Abor, the, ijon.
Abud, H. M., 484 sq.
Abydos, excavations at, 481
Abyssinians, the, 468 sq.
Achaeans, the, 463, 466, 533 sq.
Acheulean culture, 11, 14
Achinese, the, 223, 238 sq.
Acolhuas, the, 342, 394
Acoma, the, 382 n.
Adam, L.j 283, 415 n.
Adelung, J. C, 127 n.
Aderbaijani, the, 312
Aegean, the, culture of, 25 sq., 463 sqq.,
467 sq., 501 sq.; prehistoric chronology
of, 27 ; race, 466
Aeneolithic period, 21, 460
Aeta, the, 138, 149, 156 sqq., and PI. H
fig- 3
Afars, the, 468 sq., 484 sqq.
Afghans, the, 542 sq., 546
Ahoms, the, 192
Ahtena, the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — J
Aimaks, the, 312
Aimores. See Botocudos
Ainu, the, 289, 294 sq., and PI. Vll figs.- 1 , 2
Akkadians, the, 261 sqq., 264
Akua. See, Cherentes
Alakalufs, the, 411 ; language of, 413
Alans, the, 312, 540
Albanians, the, 532, 538 sq.
Algonquian linguistic stock, the, 342, 347,
354sq., 37osqq., 381
Algonquin, the, 347 n. and map, pp.
334—5
Alldridge, T. J., 56 n.
Alpine race, the, 449, 452 sq.. Pi. XI figs.
3, 4, 6, and PI. Xiv figs. 3—6 ; in the
Morea, 465 ; in Western Asia, 498,
504 ; in Scandinavia, 509 ; in Germany,
509 sq.; in France, 510, 525 sqq.; in
the Tyrol, 512; and the Celts, 5i4sq. ;
in Britain, 5 16 sqq. ; in Italy, 529; m
Russia, 539 sq. ; in Irania, 541 sqq. ; in
Central Asia, 544 sq. ; in India, 547 sq.
Altamira cave art, 13
Alur, the, 79
Ama-Fingu, the, 102
Ama-Tembu, the, 104
Ama-Xosa, the, loi
Ama-Zulu, the, loi
Amits, the, 250
Ammon, O., 511
Ammonites, the, 490
Amorites, the, 489 sq., 493, 545
Anau, exploration of, 257 sq.
Andaman Islanders, the, 138, 149 sqq.,
155, 158, and PI. II fig. I
Anderson, J. D., 546 n.
Anderson, John, 186 n.
Andi language, the, 541
Andrae, W., 264 n.
Angami Naga, the, 178; language, 177
A-Ngoni, the, 102
Annamese, the, 180, 202 sqq.
Annandale, N., 153, 222 «.
Anorohoro, the, 242
Ansariyeh, the, 497
Antankarana, the, 241
Antimerina. See Hova
Anu, the, 197
Anuchin, A, 289
Apaches, the, 342, 354, 383
Aquitani, the, 525
Arabs, the, 468, 470 sqq., 480, 488, 495,
498 sqq.
Arakanese, the, 180
Aramaeans, the, 489 sq.
Aramka, the, 73
Arapaho, the, 354, 370, 372, 374, and
map, pp. 334— S
Araucanians, the, 409 sqq. ; language,
412
Arawakan linguistic stock, 415 sq.
Arawaks, the, 348, 399, 416
Arbois de Jubainville, M. H. d', 459,
514 «.
Arcadians, the, 466
Argentina, fossil man in, 338
Arikara, the, 355, 371, and map, pp.
334— S
Aristov, N. A, 316 «.
Arldt, T., 93
Armenians, the, 449,498, 545, and PI. Xiv
figs- 3, 4
Armenoids, the, 449, 450 sq., 479, 481,
497 sq.
Index
563
Aruan, the, 416
Arunta, the, 429, 435 sqq.
Arvernians. See Alpine race
Aryan languages. See Indo-European
languages
"Aryans," the, 441 sq., 449, 501 sqq.;
" cradle " of, 503 sq.
Aryans, the. in India, 505 sq., 545 sq.,
550 and PI. XV figs. 1-3
Aryo-Dravidian type, Risley's, 546
Asha, the, 485
Ashango, the, 115
Ashanti, the, 58 sq.
Ashe, R. P., 95 n.
Ashluslays, the, 421
Aspelin, J. R., 309 »., 319
Assami, the, 193, 550
Assiniboin, the, 355, 370, 372, and map,
PP- 334—5
Assyrians, the, 488 sq., 492
Atacamenos, the, 408
Atarais, the, 416
Athapascan hnguistic stock, the, 342,
347, 354, 363, 383
Atharaka, the, 97 n.
Aucaes. See Araucanians
Auetb, the, 348, 419
Aurignacian man, 2, 9, 10 ; culture, 12,
14
Australians, the, 422, 426 — 437, and PI. X
figs. 5, 6 ; languages of, 428 sqq.
Austronesian languages, 221, 223, 240
Autenrieth, H. von, 237 n.
Avars, the, 310, 326, 329 sq., 531
Ayamats, the, 52
Aymara, the, 407, 419
Aysa, the, 485
Azandeh, the, 44
Azilian culture, 12 sqq.
Aztecs, the, 384, 389—395, 397
Babine, the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Babir, the, 70
Babylonia, Copper Age in, 22 ; Bronze
Ag:e in, 24; chronology, 27, 264 sq. ;
writing, 32 sqq. ; influence of, on China,
207 sq. ; inhabitants, 261 sqq., 488 sq.,
491 sqq. ; religion, 268; social system,
269; culture, 270 sq., 491 ; connection
with Egypt, 481
Badakhshi, the, 544
Baele, the, 73
Baelz, E., 294, 296 n.
Ba-Fiot. See Eshi-Kongo
Ba-Ganda, the, 44, 94 sqq., 248
Ba-Gesu, the, 91 n.
Baggara, the, 74, 471 n.
Baghirmi, the, 69, 72
Bagobo, the, 247
Bahau, the, 231.
Ba-Hima, the, 91, 93, 468, 484, 486
Ba-Huana, the, 115
Baining, the, 142
Bajau, the, 228
Ba-Kalai, the, 115
Baka'iri, the, 348, 415
Ba-Kene, the, 91
Ba-Kish, the, 117
Ba-Kundu, the, 117
Ba-Kwiri, the, 117
Balagnini, the, 228
Balbi, A., 420 n.
Balinese, the, 224
Balkashin, M., 316 «.
Ball, C. J., 208 «.
Ball, J., Dyer, 212 «., 216 n.
Baloch, the, 546
Ba-Lolo, the, no, 114
Ba-Long, the, 117
Balti, the, 167
Balto-Slavs, the, 506
Ba-Luba, the, 113
Ba-Mangwato, the, 109
Ba-Mba, the, 112
Bambara, the, 49, 50
Bancroft, H. H., 353
Bandelier, A. F., 383 n.
Bandziri, the, 87
Banjars, the, 52
Bantu, the, compared with Sudanese
Negro, 44 sqq. ; Chap. iv. passim ; in
Madagascar, 239 sq.
Ba-Nyai, the, 105
Ba-Nyoro, the, 92
Banyuns, the, 52
Ba-Puti, the, 109
Bara, the, 244 sq.
Barabra, the, 75 sqq., 484
. Bara wan, the, 231
Barea, the, 42
Bari, the, 78, 79
Ba-Rolong, the, 106
Ba-Rotse, the, 106 sqq.
Barrett, W. E. H., 100 «.
Barth, H., 5 1, 64 «., 65 sq., 70 sq., 72 «.
Bary, E. von, 446 «.
Ba-Sa, the, 117
Ba-Sange, the, 113
Base, the, 42
Ba-Senga, the, 105
Ba-Shilartge, the, no, 113
Bashkirs, the, 303, 318 sq., 328 «.
Ba-Soga, the, 91 n.
Ba-Songe, the, 113
Basques, the, 454 sqq., 526 sq.
Bastarnae, the, 326, 507
Ba-Suto, the, 104, 106
Batak, the, 247
Ba-Tanga, the, 117
Ba-Tau, the, 109
36—2
564
Man: Past and Present
Batchelor, J., 295 n.
Ba-Teke, the, 115
Bateman, C. S. L., 113
Bates, O., 468
Ba-Teso, the, 91 n.
Ba-Thonga, the, 102
Ba-Tlapin, the,' 106
Batta, the, 237 sq.
Ba-Twa, the, 125, 130
Bavaria, blond type in, 510; Mongoloid
traits in, 512 «.
Bayaj the, 88
Ba-Yanzi, the, 120
Ba-Yong, the, 117
Bayots, the, 52
Bean, R. B., 248
Beaver, the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Beccari, O., 231 n.
Be-Chuana, the, 44, 49, 104, 106, 108 sq.
Beddoe, J., 449, 462, 522
Bede, the, 70
Bedouin, the, 499 sq., 545,and PI. xu fig. 5
Beech, M. W. H., 486«.
Behr, V. D. v., 450 n.
Beja, the, 76 sq., 443, 468 sq., 483 sq.
Bektash, the, 497
Belck, W., 26 «.
Belgae, the, 526 sq.
Belgium, neolithic inhabitants o^ 451
Bellacoola, the, 363, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Bengali, the, 547, 550
Beni Amer, the, 483 sq.
Bent, J. T., 44, 89, 105, 466 «., 493
Bentley, W. H., iii, 119
Berbers, the, 448, 449 n., 45b sqq., .453,
468—472, 476; language of, 453 sqq-,
472 sq.
Bernard, A., 137
Berrakis, the, 544
Bertholon, L., 448
Bertin, G., 129
Bertrand, A., 457
Bertrand-Bocand^, M., 53 «.
Betoya, linguistic stock, 415
Betsiko, the, 242 sqq.
Betsimisaraka, the, 242 sq.
Beuchat, H., 389 «., 392, 394 «., 397 «.,
399, 406 «., 421 n.
Bhotiya, the, 169 sq.
Bicol, the, 221 «., 247
Biddulph, J., 542 «., 543 sq.
Bigandet, P., 186, 190
Bigger, F. J., 520
Billet, A., 197 sq.
Binger, L. G., 50 n., 52, 62
Bingham, H., 405 n.
Bini, the, 58 sq.
Bird, G. W., 188 «.
Bisayas, the, 221
Bisharin, the,483 sq., andPl. Xlllfigs. l, 2
Bishop, I. (Bird), 197 «., 218 «., 293 «.
Blackfoot. See Siksika
Blagden, C. O., 153 «., 154 »•> 222 ?«.,
426 n.
Bleek, E. D., 128 «.
Bleek, W. H. I., 118, 128 sq.
Blood Indians. See Kainah
Blumentritt, F., 156 «.
Blundell, H. Weld, 487 n.
Boas, F., 343, 347^-, 358sq., 364 sqq-,
367 n.
Bock, Carl, 192 «., 194
Bodo, the, 547
Bod-pa, the, 168 sq., 171
Bogoras, W., 288, 341
Boghaz Keui, 496, 502 n.
BoUaert, W., 403 n.
Bongo, the, 78 sq.
Bonjo, the, 87
Bonvalot, P. G., 544
Booth, A. J., 34 n.
Borgu, the, 62
Bori, the, I70«.
Borlase, W. C., 520
Borneo, natives of, 230 sqq.
Boro, the, 414
Bororo, the, 411 sq., 415
Borreby type, the, 509 n.
Botocudo, the, 416 sqq.
Bottego, v., 81 n.
Boule, M., 8 sq.
Bove, G., 413
Bowditch, C. P., 393 n.
Brahui, the, 546, 550
Braknas, the, 469
Bretons, the, 449 «., 529 sq.
Brett, E. A. de, 548 n.
Breuil, H., I3«.
Bridges, T., 401 «., 413
Brinton, D. G., 337
Britain, neolithic inhabitants of, 45 1 sqq. ;
and prehistoric trade routes, 501 ; races
of, 516 sqq., 524
Broca, P., 456, 51:2
Brocklehurst, T. U., 393 «., 397 n.
Brjrfgger, W. C., 14
Brooks, W. K., 399
Brown, A. R., 151, 431 «., 432 sqq.
Brown, G., 146 «., 555 «.
Brown, J; M., 353, 552 «., 555 «.
Brown, R., 181 n.
Brown, R. Grant, 190
Briickner, E., 13 sqq.
Briinn, skeleton, the, 9
Briix skull, the, 9
Brythons, the, 5 1 5
Budini, the, 536
Buduma, the, 69
Bugis, the, 224, 226 sqq., 236
Bukidnon, the, 247
Index
565
Bulala, the, 73
Bulams, the, 53
Bulgarians, the, 532
Bulgars, the, 318, 336 sqq., 329
Burduna, the, 435
Burish dialect, 542 n.
Burmese, the, 180, 188 sqq., 547 ; lan-
guage, 177 «.
Burton, Sir R., 116
Bury, J. B., 303 n.
Buryats, the, 272, 277
Buschmann, K. E., 393
Bushmen, the, 12, 30, 226 sqq., and PI. I
figs. 5, 6 ; traces of, in Egypt, 476
Bwais, the, 187
Byrne, J., 283, 346 n.
By»on-Gordon G., 397
Caddo, the, 355
Caddoan linguistic stock, the, 355, 381
Cagayans, the, 247
California, Indians of, 368 sqq. See map,
PP- 334—5
Callilehet, the, 411
Cambeba, the, 419 «.
Cambojans, the, 180
Canaanites, the, 489 sq., 493, 503
Canary Islands, natives of the, 448, 450,
480
Capitan, L., 9 n.
Carabuyanas, the, 348
Carapaches, the, 414
Carey, S., 183
Cariban linguistic stock, 415
Caribs, the, 399, 415 sq., and PI. IX fig. i
Carpin, J. du P., 328 n.
Carrier, the, 361 sq., and map, pp. 334 — 5
Carruthers, D., 257
Cartailhac, E., 13 n.
Cashibos, the, 414
Castrto, M. A., 278, 317
Catios, the, 400 sq.
"Caucasic," definition of, 440sq.; peoples.
Chaps. XIII, XIV, XV ; type in Central
Asia, 291 sq. ; in Knno-Turki Mon-
gols, 300 sqq.
Caucasus, racial elements in the, 540 sq.
Cayuga, the, 354, 377
Cebunys, the, 342
Celts, the, 442, 457, 459, 462 «., 506,
513 sqq., 525; languageof,453, 512, 515
Cesnola, L. P. di, 463
Chadwick, H. M., 465 «., 466 «., 507 n.,
508 «., 5I3«.
Chaldeans, the, 490
Chalmers, J., 146 «.
Chamberlain, A. F., 344, 375 n.
Chamberlain, B. H., 296 sq.
Champas, the, 166, 180, 203
Champion, A. M., 97 n.
Chanda, Ramaprasad, 547
Chandra Das, S., 169 «., 175 «.
Chanler, W. A., 124
Chantre, E., 540
Chao, the, 411
Chatelperron industry, the, 1 2
Chavanne, J., 446
Chavero, A., 393 «.
Chechenz language, 541
Chekhs, the, 331, 532, 537
Chellean culture, 7, 1 1, 14 sq.
Cheremisses, the, 325
Cherentes, the, 417
Cherokee, the, 32 n., 342, 354, 378, and
map, pp. 334—5
Chervm, A., 407
Cheyenne, the, 354, 357, no, 372, 374,
and map, pp. 334—5
Chibcha, the, 402 sqq., 421 n.
Chichimecs, the, 342, 388 n., 394
Chickasaw, the, 355, 378, and map, pp.
334—5
Childsi, the, 544
Chiliks, the, 316
Chimakuan, the, 363
Chimmesayan, the, 355
Chimu, the, 407 sq.
China, prehistoric age in, 30 sq.
Chinese, the, 193 sqq., 206 sqq.
Cbingpaws. See Singpho
Chinhwans, the, 250
Chinook, the, 363, 366, and map, pp.
334—5
Chins, the, 182 sqq.
Chipewyan, the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Chiquito, the, 348, 420
Chiriqui, the, 400, 421 n.
Chiru, the, 178
Chitimachan, the, 381
Chocos, the, 400 sq.
Choctaw, the, 355, 378, and map, pp.
334—5
Choglengs, the, 417
Chontals, the, 400
Choroti, the, 421
Christian, F. W., 555 ;^.
Chudes, the, 258, 301, 317, 319. sq.
Chukchi, the, 274 sq.,. 277, 285 sqq., 344
Church, G. E., 348
Churchill, W., 552 ra.
Cimbri, the, 507
Circassians, the, 541
Clark, C. U., 317 n.
Clifford, H., 153 sqq., 22171., 229
Clozel, F. J., 88, 90
Coahuila, the, 342
Cochiti, the, 382 «.
Cockburn, J., 166 n.
Cocks, A. H., 323
Cocoma, the, 401
566
Man: Past and Present
Cocopa, the, 383, and PI. viii fig. 3
Coconuco, the, 404
Codrington, R., 102 n.
Codrington, R. H., 146 «., 241 n.
Coffey, G., 23«., 26, 520 «.
Cole, Fay-Cooper, 248 n.
CoUas, the, 406 sq.
CoUignon, R., 448, 455 sq., 469
Colquhoun, A. R., 193 «., 202
Colvile, Z., 243 «., 244
Comanche, the, 355, 370, 372, and map,
PP- 334— S
Combe Capelle skeleton, the, 9, 10
Conestoga, the, 354
Conibos, the, 414
Conway, R. S., 453 «., 457 «., 467 «.,
513 «., 529
Congo pygmies, the, 122, 125; in Egypt,
122, 124, 476
Cook, S. A., 494 n.
Cool, W., 225
Cooper, J. M., 413 «.
Coorgs, the, 546 sq.
Corequajes, the, 415 «.
Coroados. See Kamds •
Corsicans, the, 461
Cowan, W. D., 242 «.
Coyaima, the, 402
Crawfurd, J., 146 sq.
Cree, the, 354 ; Plains-Cree, 371 ; Wood-
Cree, 375, and map, pp. 334—5
Creek, the, 355, 378 sq., and map, pp.
334—5
Crete, bronze in, 25; iron in, 26; ex-
ploration in, 463, 467 ; Pelasgians in,
464, 466 ; language, 454 ; and prehis-
toric trade routes, 502
Crevaux, J., 415 n.
Croatians, the, 532, 537 sq.
Cro-Magnon skeletons, the, 9, 448, 450
Crook, Dr W., 189 «., 306 «., 308 «., 445«.,
548
Crossland, C, 484 n.
Crow, the, 355, 370, 372, and map, pp.
334-5
Cummins, S. L., 79 «.
Cunas, the, 400
Cunningham, A., 176
Cunningham, J. F., 94 n.
Curzon, G. N., Lord, 204
Gushing, F. H., 381, 385 «., 387/2.
Cyprus, 463 ; Pelasgians in, 464, 467 ;
and prehistoric trade routes, 502
Czaplicka, M. A., 275, 277 «., 325
Dadikes. See Tajiks
Dafias, the, 170
Dahae, the, 306 sq.
Dahle, L., 241, 245
Dahomi, the, 58 sq.
Dakota, the, 355, 370sqq., andPl.viiifigs.
5' 6
Dalton, E. T., 170M., 186 «., 192 «., 548
Dalton, O. M., 62
Damant, G. H., 178 n.
Damara. See Ova-Herero
Dames, M. Longworth, 548/;.
Dandkil. See Afars
Danes, the, 449, and PI. XI figs, i — 3
Dards, the, 167
Dir6d, the, 485
Darwazi, the, 544
Darwin, C, 401 «., 413
Dauri, the, 281
Dawson, C., 3 n., 6 n.
Daza, the, 473
D^chelette, J., on the prehistoric period,
1 1 «., 13 «., 21 «., 22 «., 25 «., 26, 27 «.,
28 «., 35 ; Iberians, 455 n. ; Ligurians,
456 sqq. ; Siculi, 460 n. ; .lEgean
chronology, 467 «. ; trade routes, 502 n.
Dfecle, L., 91
Deggaras, the, 68
Dehiya. See Dahae
Dehwar. See Tajik
Delaware (Leni Lenap^), language, 349
Ddnd (Tinneh), the, 354, 361 sqq., and
map, pp. 334— S
Deniker, J., 38 «., 240 n., 295, 346, 413 «.,
469, 483^., 511, 539
Denmark, Alpine type in, 509
Dennett, R. E., 45 «., 58 n.
Deodhaings, the, 192
Desgodins,- P., l67«., 170^., 171, 196,'
J97 n.
Dewey, H., 10 «.
Dh& See Dahae
DiaramockS, the, 250
Diasu, the, 197
Dieseldorff, E. P., 342, 389
Dinka, the, 46, 78 sqq., 484
Dittmar, C. von, 286
Diula, the, 51/2.
Dixon, R. B., 347, 355 sq.
Dog Rib, the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Doko, the, 123
Dongolawi, the, 75^
Dorians, the, 466, 468, 505, 534
Dorpfeld, W., 466
Dorsey, G. A., 372 n. sqq., 385 n.
Dottin, G., 5I4«.
Dravidians, the, 428, 546 sq., 549 sqq.,
and PI. XV figs. 4, 5 ; language, 550
Dris, Rajah, 230
Drouin, M., 307
Dru-pa, the, 168
Druses, the, 498, 545,
Du Bois, C. G., 370
Dubois, E., 3 n.
Dubois, F., 65
Index
567
Duckworth, W. L. H., 2 «., 3 «., 4 «., 8,
243. 343 »•
Dume, the, 123 sq.
Dumont, A., 447
Dundas, C, 486 n.
Dungan, the, 311
Duodez language, 541
Durani, the, 543
Durkheim, E., 430
Dusun, the, 230 sq.
Dwaish, the, 469
Dwala (Duala), the, 47«., 117
Dybowski, M., 86 sq.
Dzo, the, 178
Ebisu, the, 261
Edkins, J., 211 n.
Edomites, the, 490
Efiks, the, 1 1 7
Egypt, Copper Age in, 21 sq. ; Bronze
Age in, 24 sq. ; Iron Age in, 26 ; pre-
historic chronology, 27 ; writing, 32 sq.;
Pelasgian influence in, 464 ; racial ele-
ments in, 474 — 481 ; and Babylonia,
481, 501 ; and Palestine, 493
Egyptians, the, 450, 453, 455, 468, 474—
483
Ehrenreich, P., 38, 331, 347 sq., 410 sq.,
415, 417. 420, 441, 443
Elam, Copper Age in, 22 ; Bronze Age
in, 25
Elamites, the, 266
Ehot, C, 97 n.
Ehri, the, 75
ElUs, A. B., 47 «., 55 «;, 58 sqq., 119
Ellis, Havelock, 528
Elphinstone, Mountstuart, 544
Emerillons, the, 419
Emmons, G. T., 363 n.
Endle, S., 548 n.
Enoch, C. R., 353
Eoanthropus Dawsoni. See Piltdown
Eolithic period, 10
Ephthalites. See Yd-tha
Ercilla, A. de, 409 n.
Erie, the, 375, and map, pp. 334—5
Eshi-Kongo, the, no, 112, 248
Eskimauan linguistic stock, the, 354
Eskimo, the, Alaskan, 343, 357 sq., 401 ;
Labrador, 343, 357 sq. ; Asiatic, 344 ;
" blonde," 360 ; see also map, pp.
334 — s, and PI. VIII fig. I
Esthonians, the, 320
Ethiopians. See Eastern Hamites
Etruscan language, 453
Etruscans, the, 512 sq.
Euahlayi, the, 436
Europaeus, D. E. D., 319 «.
Evans, Sir A. J., 454 «•, 463
Evans, Sir J., 7
Ewe, the, 46, 58
Faidherbe, L. L. C, 450
Falghars, the, 543
Fallmerayer, J. P., 535
Fans, the (West Africa), 81 «., 115
Fans, the (Zerafshan), 543
Fanti, the, 58 sq.
Farrand, L., 354, 386 n.
Featherman, A., 62 n.
Feist, S., 452, 454, 457 «., 503 «., 504 sq.,
507 «., 513, 527 «.
Felups, the, 52 sq.
Fenner, C. N., 339
Fermuli. See Purmuli
Fewkes, J. W., 350, 384 sqq., 387 n.
Finlay, G., 535 n.
Finno-Turki Mongols, the, Chap. IX.
passim
Finno-Ugrians, the, 3 1 9 sq. ; language, 454
Finns, the, 317 sqq., 504, 5o8, 53i, S36«- ;
Danubian, 318; Volga, 318, 320; Bal-
tic, 320 sq. ; Tavastian, 320, 322 ;
Karelian, ib.
Finsch, O., 146 «.
Fishberg, M., 496 n.
Fitzgerald, W. W. A., 98
Fitz-Roy, R., 413
Five Nations, the, 354, 375> 377
Flat-heads (Columbia River). See Chi-
nook
Flat-heads (Inland Salish), the, 343, 366
Fleischer, H. L., 241
Fletcher, A. C, 372 n. sq.
Fleure, H. J., 522
Flower, Sir W., 123
Forstemann, E., 342, 389 sq., 394, 396
Folkmar, D., 1 56 «.
Foote, R. B., 545 n.
Forbes, C.J. F. S., 147, 188 «.
Foreman, J., 156, 246 «., 247 sq.
Formosa, aborigines of, 248 sqq.
Fouill^e, A., sio«.
Foy, W., 236 n.
Fraipont, J., 8 n.
France, neolithic inhabitants of, 451 sq. ;
racial elements in, 510 sq., 525 sqq.
Frazer, Sir J. G., 364, 430
Freeman, E. A., 460 n.
Friederici, G., 138 sq.
Friis, J. A., 323
Fritsch, G., 126
Frobenius, L., 62 n.
Fuegians, the, 401, 411, 413
Fulah, the, 46, 53, 59, 66 sq., 73, 75. gov
468, 476, 482 sq.
Fulani. See Fulah
Fulbe. 5^1? Fulah
Fuluns, the, 52
Funj, the, 78
568
Man : Past and Present
Fur, the, 75
Furfooz brachycephals, the, 451
Furlong, C. W., 413 «.
Furness, W. H., 234 n.
. Furtwangler, A., 507
Ga, the, 58 sq.
Gabelenz, G. v. d., 454
Gadabursi, the, 485
Gaddanes, the, 157
Gadiow, H., 395 n.
Gagelin, Abbd, 204
"Gaillard, R., 69 n.
Gait, E. A., 192 «., 551 n.
Galatians, the, 545
Galcha, the, 541, 543 sq.
Galchic language, 541 sqq.
Galibi, the, 416
Galla, the, 90 sqq., 98, 468, 485 sq.
Galley Hill skeleton, the, 8 sq.
Gallinas, the, 53
Gamergu, the, 70
Gannett, H., 248 n.
Garamantes, the, 473
Garhwali, the, 170
Garner, R. L., SS7
Gatschet, A. S., 379 n.
Gauchos, the, 410
Gautier, J. E., 258
Geer, Baron G. de, 14 sq.
Geikie, J., 14, i6«., 123 «.
Gentil, E., 69
Georgians, the, 541
Gepidae, the, 329
Germanic race. See Nordic race
Germans, the, 318, 321
Germany, racial elements in, 509 sq.
Gesan linguistic stock, 41 5 sq.
Getae, the, 326
Ghegs, the, 538
Ghuz. See Oghuz
Giao-shi, the, 203
Gibbons, A. St H., 107 n.
Gibraltar skull, the, 8
Gidley, J. W., 339
Giles, H. A., 215 «., 218 «., 280 «.
Giles, P., 34»., 453 »•, 467, 503 «•> S04
Gill, W., 197 n.
Gillen, F. J., 430, 436 «.
Gilyaks, the, 274 sq., 277, 285, 288 sq.,
344, and PI. VI fig. 6
Gladstone, J. H., 21, 24
Gleichen, A. E. W., 487 n.
Goddard, P. E., 383«.
Sodden, G. M., 177 «.
Goez, B., 543
Goidels, the, 515
Gola, the, 53
Golds, the, 274 sq., 277, 289; and PI. Vi
fig- 5
Goliki, the, 172
Golo, the, 78 sq.
Gomes, E. H., 234 «.
Gonaqua, the, 128
Gorjanovic-Kramberger, 8 n.
G6rs, the, 544
Goths, the, 449, 508, 540
Gowland, W., 260
Graebner, F., 139, 350; 429 sqq.
Grasserie, R. de la, 345 n.
Gravette industry, the, 12
Gray. J-> 522
Greece, prehistoric chronology of, 27
Greeks, the, 463 sqq!, 466, 532 sqq.
Gregory, W. K., 556, 559 sqq.
Grenard, F., 169 «.
Grey, Sir G., 237
Grierson, G. A., I76«., 177 »., 178 «.,
546 «.
Grimaldi skeletons, the, 447
Grinnell, G. B., 372 »., 375 n.
Griqua, the, 128
Gras Ventre, the, 370, and map, pp.
334-.S
Guacanabibes,.the, 399
Guanches, the, 450, 468^ 480
Guarani, the, 419. See also Tupi-Guarani
Guatusos, the,' 400, and PI. ix fig. 2
Guillemard, F. H. H., 147 «., 247, 296 sq.
Guinness, H. G. (Mrs), 1 14
Gujarati, the, 547, 550
Guppy, H. B., 137
Gura'an, the, 73
Gurdon, P. R. T., 548 «.
Gurkhas, the, 170
Gurungs, the, 170 n., 547
Habiru. See Khabiri
Hackman, A., 261, 319 «.
Hacquard, P^re, 65 n.
Haddon, A. C, on Negrilloes, 126 «.,
I49«., 154 «., 156 «. ; Melanesia, I3S«.,
138 «.; 146 ».; Indonesians, 221 «.;
Borneo, 230 sqq., 426 n. ; America,
336 «., 341 «., 41 5 n., 416 n. ; Australia,
432 n. ; racial migrations, 292 «.,4S3 «.,
483 n., 490 «., 493 «., S47 n.
Hadendoa, the, 483 sq.
Haebler, K., 337 «.
Hagar, S., 351
Hagen, B,, 224
Hahne, H., 507 n.
Haida,J*ejj63,^d map, pp. 334—5
HafestKHTK^, the, 310
HaWas, (Burma), the, 183, 185
Hakkas, the, 211, 249
Hale, H., 412
Haldvy, J., 262
Hall, H. Fielding, 191 n.
Hall, H. R. H ., on prehistoric periods,
Index
569
21 »., 26 »., 27 «., 43 «. ; Greece, 466 «.,
533, 534 «.
Hall, R. N.,89«., 106 «.
Hallett, H. S., 190 sq., 192 «., 201 ».,
202 n.
Hallstatt, Iron Age, culture of, 28 sq.
Hamada, K., 260
Hamilton, A., l^on.
Hamites, the, 441,. 447, 468—487, 488,
and PI. xni ; Abyssinian, 486 sq. ;
Eastern, 468 sqq., 474 sqq., 483.-7 ;
Egyptian, 468, 474 sqq. ; Northern,
468 sqq.
Hammer, G., 543
Hampel, J., 23, 24 «.
Hamy, E. T., 5o«., 126, 221 «., 276, ?9o,
303
Hano, the, 382 n.
Hans (San-San), the, 291
Harding, Sir A., 97
Hares, the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Harri, the, 545
Harrison, H. S., 49 n.
Harrison Lake. See Lillooet
Hartland, E. S., 100 «., 120 «., 430, 436
Haiisa, the, 44, 66 sqq., and PI. I fig. i
Havasupai, the, 383
Hawes, C. H., 27«., S34'*-
Hawes, H. B., 27 «.
H4wiya, the, 485 — ■ "
Hazaras, the, 312
Hebrews. See Khabiri
Hedin, Sven, 257, 310
Heikel, A. O., 309
Hellenes, the, 463 sq., 466, 532
Helm, O., 24 «.
Hermann, K. A., 262
Herv^, G., 454
Hewitt, J. N. B., 375 n.
Hickson, S. J., iign., 148 «.
Hidatsa, the, 371, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Hill-Tout, C, 363 n., 367
Hilprecht, H. V., 265 n.
Hilton-Simpson, M. W., 11 3 n.
Himyarites, the, 487 sq., 499
Hirt, H., 503 n.
Hirth, F., 210 ft.
Hittites, the, 449, 467, 490, 493, 496 sqq.
Hiung-nu, the, 291 sq., 305
Hobley, C. W., 97 «.
Hodge, H., 385 n.
Hodgson, B. H., 177
Hodson, T. C, 178, 181, 182 «., 548 «.
Hoei, the, 211
Hoemle, A. F. R., 546 n.
Hoffman, W. J., 375 «•
Hogarth, D. G., 268 «., 496 «., 497 «.
Hok-los, the, 211, 249
Hollis, A. C, 486 n.
Holmes, T. Rice, 25 «., i74«., 45i«-;
on the Mediterranean Race, 452 — 456,
459 ; Indo-Europeans, 505 «., 507 n. ;
Celts, 514; Picts, 516; British round-
heads, 5I7«., 518 ; 525 «.
Holmes, W. H., 339, 351, 357, 381 «-,
387 «.
Hommel, F., 2lo«., 270
Homo Alfiinus, 449 sq. See also Alpine
race
Europaeus, 449. See also Nordic
race
heidelbergensis, 8, 9. See also
Mauer jaw
primigenius, 8, 9. See also Nean-
dertal man
recens, 8 sqq.
Hooper, W. H., 286
Hoops, J., 507 n.
Hopi, the, 355, 357, 382, 385, and map,
PP- 334—5
Hor-pa, the, 172
Horspks, the, 172
Hose, C, 231
Hottentots, the, 1 26 sqq., and PI. I figs. 3, 4
Hough, W., 351, 385 «., 387 n.
Houghton, B., 183
Hova, the, 224, 240, 242 sqq., 244 sq.
Howitt, A. W., 430, 435 «., 436
Howorth, Sir H. H., 172 «., 281, 302
Hrasso, the, 170
Hrdhcka, A., 338 sqq.
Huaxtecans, the, 388, 393 sqq., 396
Huaxtecs (Totonacs), the, 342, 388 sq., 395
Hue, E. R. (Abb^), 280
Huichols, the, 395 n.
Huilli-che, the, 410
Hungarians, th§, 317 n., 328 sqq.
Hungary, Copper Age in, 23
Huns, the, 307, 326 sqq., 531
Huntington, E., 165 «., 257, 263;/., 384 ».
Hurgronje, C. S., 239 «.
Huron, the, 354, 375, 378, and map,
PP- 334—5
Hyades, P. D. J., 401 «., 413
Hyksos, the, 476, 490
" Hyperboreans," the, 285
Iban, the, 230, 232 sqq.
Ibara, the, 242
Ibea, the, 117
Iberians, the, 449, 452, 455 sq., 459, 525 ;
language of, 454
Ibis, P., 249
Idoesh. See Dwa'ish
Igorots (Igorrotes), the, 157, 247
Ihring, H. v., 270
Illanuns, the, 228 «.
Illinois, the, 375, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Illinois dialect, the, 354
lUyrians, the, 460 «., 529 «., 538
570
Man : Past and Present
Ilocano, the, 247
Imeritian language, 541
Inca, the, 404 — 407, 421 n.
Indo-Aryan type, Risley's, 546
Indo-European languages, 441 sq., 453,
456 sq., 502 sqq, ; type, 504 sq. ; migra-
tions, 505 sqq.
Indo-Germanic. See Indo-European
Indonesians, the, 221, 230, 235, 248 sq.,
551 sq.
Ingham, E. G., 56«., 57
Ingrians, the, 322
Iowa, the, 371, and map, pp. 334^ — 5
Ipurina, the, 348, 416
Iranians, the, 506, 541 sqq., and PI. XII
fig. 6
Ireland, Copper Age in, 23 ; Bronze Age
in, 25 sq., 502; racial elements in,
S 19 sqq.
Ireland, A., 191 n.
Iroquoian linguistic stock, the, 354 sq.,
375 sqq., 381
Iroquois, the, 342, 354 sq., 375 sqq., and
map, pp. 334—5
Irula, the, 423, and PI. x fig. 2
Ishik, the, 485
Ishogo, the, 115
Isleta, the, 382 «.
Israelites, the, 490, 494
Italic language, 461 n.
"Italici" of Sergi, 461 n.
Italy, racial elements in, 528 sqq.
Itaves, the, 157
Itelmes. See Kamchadales
lungs (Njungs), the, 196
Ivanovski, A., 316 «.
Iyer, L. K. A. K., 548 n.
Jaalin, the, 74
Jackson, F. G., 324
Jackson, J. Wilfred,, 353, 520 n.
Jallonkd, the, 49, 51
Jallio, the, 80
Jawies, A. W., 386 n.
James, G. C, 522
Jaiisens, the, 178
Japian, Stone Age in, 260 sq.
Japanese, the, 274, 294 sqq. ; language,
297 ; religion, 297 sqq., and PI. VII figs.
3,4
Jas'trow, M., 493 «., 500
Jits, the, 306 sqq., 546
Java, fossil man in, 3
Javanese, the, 224, 240
Jazyges, the, 326
Jemez, the, 382 n.
Je^iks, A. E., 247 sq., 375 n.
Jdquier, G., 475 tt.
Jette, J., 363
Jews, the, 494 sqq.
Jicarilla, the, 383, and map, pp. 334—5
Jigushes, the, 52
Joats, the, 52
Jochelson, W. I., 286 n.
Johns, C. H. W., 265 n., 268 n., 491 «.,
492 n, 493 n.
Johnston, Sir H. H., on the Sudanese,
43 «-. 45. 57 «-, 65, 67 «. ; 86 ; Bantu,
92 sq.; 94».j96«., 106 «., ii3«., 116,
117 «.; Bushman, I2i «., 126, I29«.;
229 n. ; Berbers, 452 «., 473 n. ; Egypt,
476 sq., 481 « ; Fulah, 483
Johnson, J. P., 43«., 161
Jola, the, 52
Jolof, the, 47
Jones, W., 377 n.
Joyce, T. A., on Africa, 41 «., 43 n., 44 «.,
113 «., 1 1 5 «., 468 n. ; Madagascar, 240,
244 sq. ; Central Asia, 311, 545 «.;
Mexico, 342, 393 n., 395 n. ; Central
America, 399 ; South America, 400 n.,
403 «., 404 «., 407 «., 409 «., 410 «.,
412 n.
JuUian, C, 455, 457, 459
Junker, W., 79 sq., 82 sq., 122, 124
Junod, H. A., 102 «., 104 «.
Juris, the, 348
Kababish, the, 74, 471 n., 484, and PI. xii
figs. 3, 4
Kabard language, the, 541
Kabinda, the, no, 112 sq.
Kabuis, the, 178
Kabyles, the, 452
Kachins. See Kakhyens
Kadayans, the, 232
Kadir, the, 423
Kai-Colo, the, 137 «•, 343
Kainah, the, 374, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Kaingangs. See Kam6s
Kaitish, the, 436, and PI. x fig. 5
Kajuna dialect, the, 542 n.
Kakhyens, the, 182, 186, 193
Kalabit, the, 230 sq.
Kalapooian,the, 363, andmap, pp. 334 — 5
Kalina, the, 416
Kalmuks, the, 272, 274 sq., 311, and PI.
VI fig. 4 .
Kamassintzi, the, 317
Kamayura, the, 348, 419
Kamchadales, the, 274 sq., 285 sqq., 344
Kam^s, the, 417
Kamjangs, the, 192
"Kanakas," the, 137
Kanarese, the, 549, and PI. xv fig. 6
Kanembu, the, 69, 72 sq.
Kanet, the, 547
Kansa, the, 371
Kanuri, the, 69, 72
Kara, the, 75
Index
571
Karagasses, the, 317
Kara-Kalpaks, the, 312
Kara- Kirghiz, the, 314, 316
Kara-Tangutans, the, 169
Karaya, the, 415'
Karenni, the, 187
Karens, the, 182, 186 sq., 199
Kargo, the, 75
Karian inscriptions, 453
Karigina, the, 415 n.
Karipuna, the, 414
Karons, the, 52
Karsten, R., 421 n.
Kartweh, the, 541
Kasak, the, 316
Kashgarians, the, 311, 313 «.
Kashmiri, the, 550
Kassonke, the, 49
Kattea. See Vaalpens
Kauflfmann, F., 504
Kavirondo, the, 91 n.
Kawahla, the, 484
Kayan, the, 159 «., 231 sqq.
Kayapos, the, 417
Keith, A., 2 «., 3 «., 5 «., 6, 8 «., 9, 447,
511 «., 517 «•, 557 «■
Keller, C, 485
Kelt (Celt), use of term, 449, 512, 514
" Keltiberians," the, 527
Kelto-Slavs, the, 449
Kennan, G., 288 «.
Kennan, R., 314
Kennelly, M., 212 «., 216 «.
Kenyah, the, 231 sqq.
Keresans, the, 382 n.
Keribina, the, 70
Kerrikerri, the, 70
Khabiri (Hebrews), the, 490, 493 sq.,
religion of the, 500
Khamti, the, 180
Khanikoff, N. V., 542 so.
Khanungs. See Kiu-tse
Khas (Gurkha), the, 170
Khas (of Siam), the, i7o«.-
Khatri, the, 546
Khatti, the, 496
Khazars, the, 326, 494
Khemis, the, 188
Kheongs, the, 187
Kheta, the, 496
Khitans, the, 279
Khmers, the, 199
Khorvats. See Croatians
Khos, the, 544
Khotana, the, 361, and map, pp. 334— S
Khyengs, the, 188
Khyungthas, the, 188
Kiao-shi. See Giao-shi
Kichai, the, 355
Kickapoo, the, 37S, and map, pp. 334—5
Kidd, D., 104 n.
Kimmerians, the, 267 n.
Kimos, the, 239
King, L. W., 23«., 27^., 262 «. sqq.,
481 «., 491 «., 493 «•) 497 «•
King, P. P., 413,
Kingsley, M. H., 58, 1 16
Kiowa, the, 370, 372, and map, pp. 334—5
Kiowa-Apache, the, 370
Kipchaks, the, 312, 315
Kirghiz, the, 274, 301, 303,3iosq.,3i4sqq.
Kitars, the, 316
Kiu-tse, the, 197
Klaatsch, H.; 2, qn., \on.
Klangklangs, the, 183
Klaproth, H. J., 306, 309 n.
Klemschmidt, S., 346 n.
Klemantan, the, 231 sqq.
Klements, D. A., 310
Kloss, C. B., 252 «.
Kobito, the, 260
Knowles, W. J., 520
Koch-Griinberg, T., 415
Koeze, C. A., 248 n.
Koganei, Y., 295 n.
Kohistani, the, 544
Kohlbrugge, J. H., 230 «.
Koibals, the, 317
Kolaji, the, 75
Koldewey, K., 264 n.
KoUmann, J., 123
Kols, the, 548 sq.
Kolya, the, 178
Komans, the, 312
Kono, the, 53
Konow-Sten, I76«., I77«-, '78 «•
Koraqua, the, 128
Koreans,the,274, 289sqq.,andPl.vnfig.
5 ; Korean script, 294
Korinchi, the, 236
Koro-pok-guru, the, 260, 295
Koryak, the, 274 sq., 277, 285 sqq., 344
Kossacks. See Kasak
Kossinna, G., 503 «.
"Kowalewsky, M., 540
Kramer, A., ^I2n., 555 n.
Krapina skeletons, the, 8, 12
Krause, F., 4I5«., 417
Kreitner, G., 194
Krej, the, 78
Kretschmer, P., 529 «.
Kroeber, A. L., 347, 368 sqq., 374 «.
Kropotkin, P. A., prince, 165 n.
Kru, the, 53, 57 sq-
Kshtuts, the, 543
Kubachi language, the, 541
Kuki, the, 178 sq., 182, 186
Kuki-Lushai, the, I78«.,sqq., 183; lan-
guage, 177
Kulfan, the, 75
Kumi, the, 188
Kumuks, the, 312
572
Man : Past and Present
Kunbi, the, 546
Kurankos, the, 53
Kurds, the, 267 »., 505, 545, an4 PI. XIV
figs. I, 2
Kuri, the, 69
Kurlanders, the, 330
Kurnai, the, 437
Kurugli, the, 303
Kurumba, the, 424, 547 «., 549
Kussas, the, 53
Kustenaus, the, 416
Kutchin, the, 361
Kutigurs, the, 329
Kwsens, the, 323
Kwakiutl, the, 343, 363 sqq., see map,
PP- 334—5, and PI. viii fig. 2
Kwana, the, 416
Kymric race. See Nordic race
Kyzylbash, the, 497
La Chapelle-aux-Saints skull, the, 8, 9, 12
Lacouperie, T. de, 168 «., ij6n., 193,
195 sq., 207 sqq., 294 «., 249 »., 251 n.
Ladakhi, the, i66sq. "
La Ferassie skeleton, the, 9, I2
Lafofa, the, 75
Lagden, G., 109 «.
Lagoa Santa race, the, 339 sq., 417
Laguna, the, 382 n. \
Lai, the, 183
Lai, the, 211
Laing, S., 267 «.
Lake, P., 446 n.
Laloy, L., 16, 511
La Micoque industry, the, 1 1
Lampongs, the, 235 sq.
Lam'pre, G., 258
Lamut, the, 274 sq.
Land Dayak, the, 230 sq., 426
Lang, Andrew, 151, 430, 437 «.
Lansdell, H., 280, 281 n., 285 «., 289
Laos, the, 180, 191 sq., 201
Lapicque, L., 149 sq., 422
Lapouge, G. V. de, 449, 510, 512, 540
Lapps, the, 321 sqq., 324, and PI. VII
fig. 6 ; physical characters of, 324
Lartet, L., 9 n.
Last, J. T., 241
La Ttoe, Later Iron Age culture of, 28
Latham, R. E., 409 n.
Lawas, the, 199
Layana, the,. 416
Layard, N. F., 520
Laz language, 541
Leder, H., 258, sqq.
Lef^vre, A., 536
Legendre, A. F., i^(tn.
Leitner, G. W., 167, 542 «.
Le Moustier, culture, 8, 11, 14 ; skeleton,
9. 12
Lenormant, F., 535
Lenz, O., ii6«.
Lenz, R., 410
Ldon, N., 345 n.
Leonard, A. G., 45 «., 58 n.
Leonhardi, M. F. v., 437 w.
Lepcha, the, 547; language; 177
Lepsius, K. R., 76 sq., 473
Lesghians, the, 541 ; language of, 483
Letourneau, C., 36, 448
Letto-Slavs, the, 506
Letts, the, 321
Levallois industry, the, 1 1
Levchine, A. de, 3i6«.
Lewis, A. B., 367 n.
Leyden, J., 222 n.
Lho-pa, the, 170
Liberians, the, 53, 56 sq.
Libyan Race. See Northern Hamites
Libyans, the, 448 sq., 453, 476
Lichtenstein, M. H. K.; 127
Ligurians, the, 449, 4SS— 9, 461 sq., 504,
513, 529; language of, 453
Lillooetjthe, 343, 367, and map> pp. 334— 5
Limba, the, 53
Limbu, the, 547
Lindsay, W. M., 529 ».
Lin-tin-yu. See Yayo
Lippert, J., 67 n.
Lithuanians, the, 318
Littmann, E., 453 «., 487 n.
Liu-Kiu (Lu-Chu), the, 274, 296 sq.
Livi, R., 460, 462, 5 1 r, 528
Livingstone, D., 107
Livonians, the, 320
Logon, the, 70
Lohest, M., 8 n.
Lokko, the, 53
Lolos, the, 173, 19s sq., 211
Lombards, the, 449
Loucheux, the, 361, and map, pp. 334—5
Low, Brook, 231
Lowie, R. H., 367 n.
Luard, C. E., 548 n.
Lubbers, A., 239
Lucayans, the, 399 sq. .
Luchuans. See Liu-Kiu
Lugard, F. D., 62
Lugard, F. S. (Lady), 73 n.
Luiseno, the, 355, 370
Lukach, H. C, \6n.
Lumholtz, C, 395 «., 397 n.
Lupacas, the, 407
Luschan, F. v., 268 «., 450, 465, 492 n.,
495 »■, 497 sqq., 542 «., 545
Lushai, the, 178
Lu-tse, the, 197
Lyall, C. J., 548 n.
Lycia, inhabitants of, 497 ; language,
454
Lydian dialect, the, 453
Lythgoe, A. M., 478
Index
573
Maba, the, 73 sq.
Macalister, A., j 1 1
Macalister, R. A. S., 492
MacCurdy, G. G., 5 «., 35
Macdonald, J., 104 »., 108
Mace, A. C, 478
Machas, the, 543 ,
Mackintosh, C. W., 107 n.
MacMichael, H. A., 74, 75 n.
Macusi, the, 416
Madagascar. 239 sqq.
Madi, the, 78
Madurese, the, 224
Mafflian industry, the, 10, 14
Maful.u, the, 158
Magars, the, I70«.
Magdalenian culture, 12 sqq.
Mager, H., 555 «.
Maghians, the, 543
Magyars, the, 301, 318, 326, 328 sqq.,
531 ; language of, 283
Mahaffy, J. P., 493 n.
Mahai, the, 75
Mahamid, the, 73
Mahrati, the, 550
Mainwaring, G. B., 177 n.
Ma-Kalaka, the, 104 sq.
Makaraka, the, 78 sq.
Makari, the, 69 sq.
Makirifares, the,- 415
Ma-Kololo, the, 106 sqq.
Makowsky, A., 9 n.
Maku, linguistic stock, 415
Malagasy, the, 239 sqq. ; language, 241 ;
mental qualities, 244
Mala-Vadan, the, 423
Malayalim, the, 549
Malayans, the, 221 sqq., 227; folklore of,
229 sq.
Malayo-Polynesian. See Austronesian
Malays, the, 221 sqq., 226; in Borneo,
230, 232 sqq. ; in Madagascar, 240 ; in
Australia, 428, 551
Malbot, H., 450, 472
Malinowski, B., 432, 434
Malhesors, the, 538
Malta, inhabitants of, 499
Man, E. H., 150M., 152, 251 sqq.
Man, the, 197 sq., 211
Manaos, the, 416
Manchu, the, 274 sq., 279 sqq.
Manda, the, 267 «.
Mandan, the, 355, 371 sq., and map,
PP- 534-5 ,
Mandara, the, 6g sq.
Mandaya, the, 247
Mandingans, the, 44, 46, 49 sqq., 66
MangbattU, the, 44, 46, 78, 80 sqq.
Mangkassaras, the, 224, 226, 236
Manguianes, the, 237
Manipuri, the, 178 sqq., 181
Manobo, the, 247
Mans-Coc, the, 1^8
Mdns-Meo, the, 198, 211
M4ns-Tien, the, 198
Mansuy, M., 186 «.
Man-tse. See Man
Mao Nagas, the, 178 sq.
Maori, the, 552, and PI. xvi figs. 3, 4
Mapoches, the, 410
Maram Nagas, the, 178 sq.
Maratha Brahmans, the, 546 sq.
Margi, the, 70 ..
Maricopa, the, 383
Markham, Sir C. R., 347 sq., 401 «., 405,
409, 414/2., 420 ».
Maronites, the, 498
Marre, A., 241 n.
Marrings, the, 178 sq.
Marstrander, C. J. S., 497 n.
Martin, H., 449 «.
Martin, R., I53«., 154, 412, 426 «.
Martius, V., 402 «., 411, 416 sq.
Masai, the, 97, 468, 484, 486
Mas-d'Azil, 12 ; pebbles, 34 sqq.
Ma-Shona, the, 104
Maspero, G., 270, 493 n., 533
Massagetae, the, 305 sq.
Ma-Tabili, the, 105
Mataco, the, 420 sq.
Mathew, J., 237 «., 428
Matlaltzincas, the, 395
Matokki, the, 75
Matores, the, 317
Matthew, W. D., 557 «.
Mauer jaw, the, 3 sqq., 11, 14
Ma-Vambu, the, 113
Maya, the, 389—398
Mayang Khong, the, 178
Maya-Quichd, the, 342, 393, 397 sq.
Mayorunas, the, 402
Maypures, the, 416
Mberiga, the, 1 1 5
McCabe, R. B., 177
McDougall, W., 231 n.
McGee, W. J., 396
Means, P. A., 406 n.
Mecklenberg, A. F., Duke of, ii3«.
Medes, the, 267 n.
Mediterranean race, the, 448 sq., 452 ; in
Europe, 455 — 468; in Africa, 468 —
478 ; language of, 453 sq.
Mehinaku, the, 348, 416
Mehlis, C, 457
Meinhof, C., 473 n.
Meithis, the, 181 ; language of, \^^ n.
Melam, the, 197
Melanesians, the, 135 sqq. j analysis of,
138 sq. ; culture of, 139 — 146
Mendi, the, 53
574
Man : Past and Present
Menominee, the, 354, 375, and map,
, PP- 33.4—5
Mentawi, the, natives of, 235
Mentone, Grottes de Grimaldi, the, 9
Mercer, H., 396
Merker, M., 486 n.
Mescalero, the, 383, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Messapians, the, 452, 529 «.
Messerschmidt, L., 496
Mesvinian industry, the, 10, 14
Meyer, A. B., 230
Meyer, E., 27 «., 262 sqq. ; on Indo-
Europeans, 441 «., 456, 504, 5o6«. ;
460 n. ; Pelasgians, 466 sqq. ; Egyp-
tians, 479, 482 ; Semites, 489 «., 491 «.,
492 «., 493 n.
Meyer, H., 450
Meyer, Kuno, 515 «.
Miami, the, 354, 375, and map, pp. 334— S
Miao-tse. See M4ns-Meo
Michelis, E. de, 505
Micmac, the, 375, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Micronesians, the, 551, and Pl.'XVl figs. 5', 6
Mikhailovskii, V. M., 277 «., 278 n.
Miklukho-Maclay, N. v., 137 «.
Milanau, the, 231, 233
Miller, Gerrit S., 560 «., 561
Milliet. See Saint Adolphe
Milligan, J., 160
Milne, J., 260
Minaeans, the, 499
Minahasans, the, 224
Mindeleff, C, 383 «.
Mingrelian language, the, 541
Minnetari, the, 342
Minns, E. H., 537
Minoan culture, 463 sqq., 467, 502
Minyong, the, 170
Mirdites, the, 538 «., 539
Miri, the, 170
Mishmi, the, 170
Mishongnovi, the, 382 n.
Missouri, the, 371, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Mittu, the, 78
Miwok, the, pp. 334—5
Miztecs, the, 390, 395
Mizzi, M., 499 n.
Moabites, the, 489 sq.
Mochicas, the, 408
Moeso-Goths, the, 508
Mohave, the, 383, and map, pp. 334—5
■Mohawk, the, 354, 377
Moi, the, 197
Molu-che. See Araucanians
Mongolia, prehistoric remains in, 259 sq.
Mongoloid type, Risle^s, 547
Mongolo-Dravidian type, Risley's, 547
Mongolo-Tatar. See Mongolo-Turki
Mongolo-Turki, the, 164 sq., 256, 274sqq.
Mongols, Northern, Chap. Vlll
Mongols, Oceanic, Chap, vii
Southern, Chap, vi
Mono,ihe, 355
Mons, the, 180
Montagnais, the, 354, 375, and map,
PP- 334—5
Montano, J., 157
Montehus, O., 27, 7,1011., 319 «., 512
Mooney, J., 374 n.
Moorehead, W. K., 343
" Moors," the, 469
Moravians, the, 331
Mordvinians, the, 325
Morel, E. D., 58 n.
Morgan, J. de, 22, 25 «., 258, 2(fjn.,
447
Morgan, E. Delmar, 173 «.
MorfiU, W. R., 530
Morice, A. G., 362 sq.
Morley, S. G., 391 n., 392 «., 397 ».
Mosgu, the, 69, 71
Mossi, the, 62
Mossos, the, 173, 195 sq.
Mostitz, A. P., 259
Moszkowski, Max, 149
Mousterian man. See Le Moustier
Moxos, the, 348, 414, 416
M pang we. See Fans
M pong we, the, 115
Mros, the, 187 sq.
Mrungs, the, 188
Much, M., 23
Much, R., 507 n.
Miiller, F., 236 «.
Mugs, the, 187 sq.
Mundu, the, 78
Mundurucu, the, 419
Munro, N. G., 295 n.
Munro, R., 529 «.
Muong, the, 197
Murmi, the, 547
Murut, the, 230 sq.
Muskhogean linguistic stock, the, 355,
381
Musquakie. See Sauk and Fox
Mussian, explorations at, 258
Muyscans, the, 400, 402
Myers, C. S., 75»., 79«., 482
Mycenaean (Mykenaean). See Minoan
Myong, the, 197
Myres, J. L., 465, 466 «., 477 «., 489 «.,
490 «., 502, 533 «.
Mysians, the, 506 ; language of, 453
Nactitig-al, G., 70 sqq., 74 n.
Nadaillac, Marquis de, J. F. A., 381,
394 «•- 395 »•, 408 n.
Naga, the, 178 sq. ; language, 177
Naga-ed-DSr, excavations at, 478, 481
Nahane the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Index
SIS
Nahua, the, 342 sq., 388 n., 392 sqq., 397,
400, 421 n.
Nahuatlans, the, 342, 388, 393 sqq., 402
Nahuqua, the, 348, 415
Nairs, the, 547
Najera, 396
Nambe, the, 382 n.
Narrinyeri, the, 437
Nashi (Nashri). See Mossos
Naskapi, the, 375, and map, pp. 334—5
Nassaiu, R. H., 61 n.
Natagaima, the, 402
Natchez, the, 355, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Navaho, the, 354, 383, see map, pp.
334—5, and PI. VIII fig. 4.
Naville, E., 475 «., 477 «., 481
Neandertal man, 2, 8 sqq., 12, 448
Negrilloes, the, 122 sqq., and PI. II fig. 4
Negritoes, the, 149 sqq., and PI. II figs. I,
2, 3, 5 — 7 ; culture of, 158 — 9, 230
Neumann, O., 127
Nez-percds. See Shahapts
Ngao, the, 198
Ngiou. See Burmese
Ngisem, the, 70
Nias, the, 235
Niblack, A. P., 366 n.
Niceforo, A., 461
Nickas, the, 250
Nicobarese, the, 251 sqq.
Niederle, L., 540 «.
Nieuwenhuis, A. W., 234 «.
Nilotes, the, 486, and PI. Xlll
Niquirans, the, 388
Niu-chi (Yu-chi, Nu-chin), the, 279
Njungs. See lungs
Nogai, the, 303
Nong, the, 197 sq.
Nootka, the, 363, 393 «•, and map, pp.
334—5 '
Nordenskiold, A. E. von, 287
Nordenskiold, E., 421
Nordenskiold, G., 383 n.
Nordic race, the, 449, 452 sq., 504,
506 sqq., PI. XI figs. 1, 2, 5, and PI. XIV
figs. I, 2 ; in Scandinzivia, 509
Norsemen, the, 449, 526 sq.
Northcote, G. A. S., 79 n.
Norway, racial elements in, 509
Nossu (Nesu). See Lolos
Nu-Aruak, the, 416
Nuba, the, 74 sqq.
Nubians, the, 75 sqq., 468
Nuer, the, 78 sq., 484
Niiesch, J., 16, 123
Nutria, the, 382 «.
Nuttall, Z., 353, 393 n.
Nwengals, the, 183
Obermaier, H., 4«., 8, 9«., 14 «.
Oghuz, the, 311 sqq.
Ojibway.the, 354, 371, 375sqq., and map,
PP- 334—5
Ojo Cahente, the, 382 n.
Okanda, the, 115
Oldoway skeleton, the, 43 «., 447
Omagua (Flat-heads), the, 419
Omaha, the, 355, 371, and map, pp.
334—5
Onas, the, 411 ; language of, 413
Oneida, the, 354, 377
Onnis, E. A., 461
Onondaga, the, 354, 377
Ons, the, 316
Oraibi, the, 382 n.
Orang-Baruh, the, 238
Benua, the, 223
' Maldyu. See Malays
Selat, the, 228
-Tunong, the, 238
Oraons, the, 550
Orbigny, A. D. d', 412
Oriyas, the, 547
' Orleans, H., Prince d', 186 «., 191 «.,
192 sq., 19s sqq.
Oroch, the, 275
Orochon, the, 274 sq., 277
Oroke, the, 275
Orsi, P., 460
Osage, the, 342, 355, 371, and map, pp.
334—5
Oshyeba. See Fans
Ossets, the, 505, 540
O'SuUivan, H., 79 n.
Ostrogoths, the, 449
Ostyaks, the, 275, 277, 303, 325, and PI. VI
fig- 3
Otomi, the, 395
Ottawa, the, 375, and map, pp. 334 — 5 ;
language, 354
Oto, the, 371, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Ova-Herero, the, 44, 109 sqq., 1 19 sq.
Mpo, the, 109
Zorotu, the, no
Oyampi, the, 419
Padam, the, 170 «., 193
Padao, the, 193
Paes, the, 404
Pahuins. See Fans (West Africa)
Paiwans, the, 250
Pa'i, the, (Laos) of Assam, 192
Pa-'i, the, of S.W. China, 211
Pakhpu, the, 543
Pakpaks, the, 237 n.
Palaeasiatics, Deniker's, 295
Palaeo-Siberians, the, 275, 344
Palawans, the, 237
Palembang, the 235 sq.
Paleo-Asiatics. See Palaeo-Siberians
Palmer, H. R., 68 n.
Pames, the, 394 n.
576
Man : Past and Present
Pampangan, the, 247
Pampeans, the, 410 ; language of, 412
Panches, the, 402
Pangasinan, the, 247
Paniyan, the, 423, and PJ. X fig. 4
Pano, the, 414, 419
Pan-y, the', £98
Pan-yao, the, 198
Papuans, the, 135 sq., 188,- I46 sqq.,
551, and PI. Ill figs. 3, 4
Papuasians, the, chap. v. passim
Papuo-Melanesians, the, 135 sq., and
PI. HI figs. 5, 6
Parker, A. C, 375 n.
Parker, E. H., 216 a., 292 n., 294 «., 304
Parker, H., 425 n.
Parker, K. Langloh, 436, 437 n. 1
Parkinson, J., 58 n.
Parkinson, R., 146
Parthians, the, 305 sq.
Partridge, C, 58 n.
Passumahs, the, 223
Patagonians, the, 41 1 sq., and PI. IX figs.
5, 6 ; language of, 412 sq.
Paton, L. B., 492 «., 493 n.
Patroni, G., 459 sq.
Patterson, A. J., 531 n.
Paulitschke, P., 485
Paumari, the, 348, 416
Pawnee, the, 355, 371 sqq., 375,and map,
PP- 334—5
Peal, S. E., 192 n.
Pears, E., 530 n.
Pease, A. E., 446 n.
Pechenegs, the, 312
Pecos, the, 382 n.
Peet, T. E., 528 n.
Peisker, T., 257, 260 n., 303 sq., 330,
506 «., 507 «., 512 «., 531, 536 «., 537 n.
Peixoto, J. R., 417
Pelasgians, the, 449, 452, 458, 462—7,
5 1 2 sq. ; in Italy, 528; in Greece, 532 sq. ;
language of, 453, 465
Penck, A., 13 sqq.
Penek, the, 410
Penka, C., 460 «., 529, 532
Peoria, the, 375, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Pepohwans, the, 249
Peringuey, L., 121
Permians, (Beormas, Permian Finns),
the, 318 «., 322, 324, 330
Persians, the, 542, 545
Pescado, the, 382 n.
Perry, W. J., 352
Peschel, O., 286 «., 302 «., 315 «., 317 n.
Pesegem, the, 158
Petersen, E., 465 n.
Petrie, W. M. Flinders, 27 «., 37, 467,
476, 479. 495 «•
Peyrony, M., 9 «.
Philippines, the, 24(5 gqq.
Philistines, the, 490, 494
Phoenicians, the, 352, 488 sq., 493, 527
Phrygians, the, 490, 506
Piankashaw, the, 375
Pickett, A. J., 379 «.
Pictones, the, 525
Picts, the, 515 sq.
Picun-che, the, 410
Picuris, the, 382 n.
Piegan, the, 374, and map, pp. 334—5
Piette, E., 13, 34, 36
Pilma, the, 411
Piltdown skull, the, 3 sqq., 11, 560 sq.
Pima, the, 382 sq., and map, pp. 334—5
Pinches, T. G., 34, 208, 266
Pintos, the, 394 n.
Pipils, the, 388 sqq.
Pithecanthropus erectus, 2 sqq., 9
Plains Indians, the, 342, 370— 5, and map,
PP- 334-5
Planert, W., 129 «.
Playfair, A., 548 n.
Pojoaque, the, 382 n.
Polabs, the, 537
Polak, J. E. R., 345 n.
Poles, the, 532, 537
Polynesians, the, 341, 552 sqq., and PI.
XVI figs. I — 4
Pomo, the, pp. 334—5
Ponca, the, 342, 371 sq., and map, pp.
334—5
Portugal, racial elements m, 527 sq.
Potanin, G. N., 169, 311 n.
. Potawatomi,the, 375,,and map, pp. 334—5
Poutrin, L., 69 n.
Povfell, J. W., 16, 347, 349. 354, 39i «•
Powhatan, the, 378, and map, pp. 334—5
Praeger, R. Lloyd, 520 n.
Pre-Dravidians, the, 149, 230, Chap, xil,
428, and PI. X figs. 1—4
Prichard, J. C, 300, 303, 306, 447
Prince, J. D., 262
Prjevalsky, N. M., 168, 172
Procksch,0., 489 «., 491 n., 493 n., 494 «.
Proto-Malays, the 230
Proto-Polynesians, the, 138
Pryer, W. <B., 228 w.
Pueblo Indiana, the, 356, 382 — 7, 392 ;
and map, pp. 334— 5
Puelche, the, 410, 412
Puenche, the, 410
Pumpelly, R.^ 257
Punan, the, 230 sq., 233
Punjabi, the, 550
Pun-ti, the, 212
Purasati, the, 494
Purmuli, the, 544
Pwos, the, 187
Pycraft, W. P., 561
Quapaw, the, 378
Index
S11
Quatrefages, A. de, 230
Quoirengs, the, 178
Quichuas, the, 404 sq., 407
Radloff, W., 315
Raffles, Sir T. S., 238
Rahanwfn, the, 48;
RAjputs, the, 306 sqq., 546
Rakhaingtha, the, 188
Randall-Maclver, D., 89 «., 106 n.
Rangkhols, the, 177
Ranqualches, the, 410
Rat, J. Numa, 345 n.
Rattray, R. S., 69 n.
Rawling, C. G., 157 «.
Rawlinson, G., 262 «., 307
Ray, S. H., 135 «., 139 n., 428
Read, C. H., 62
Reade, W. Winwood, n6
Reck,- Hans, 43 «., 447
Reclus, E., 276 «., 398 n.
Reed, W. A., 156 «.
Regnault, M. F., 48
Rein, J. J., 298 n.
Reinach, L. de, 192 n.
Reinach, S., 13 «., 465 n.
Reinecke, P., 27
Reinisch, L., 80
Reisner, G. A., 22, 75, 478, 481
Rejang, the, 223, 235 sq.
Retu, the, 475 «.
Retzius, G., 505 «.
Reutelian culture, 10
Rhaetians (Rasenes), the, 512
Rhoxolani, the, 326
Rhys, Sir J., 516 n.
Rialle, G. de, 249 n.
Richthofen, F. von, 302, 311
Ridge^ay, SirW., 2«., 28;on Pelasgians,
453, 462 «, 464sq.,466«., 467 «.; Ligu-
rians, 457 ; Romans, 529 n. ; Achaeans,
533 "■
Rink, H. J., 346, 358
Rink, S., 287
Ripley, W. Z., 17 «., 441 «., 449 ; on
the Mediterranean race, 452, 461 n.;
Basques, 454 «., 455 A. ; Greeks, 462 «.,
465, 483 n. ; Phoenicians, 493 «.; Jews
and Semites, 495 «., 504 ; Scandinavia,
509; Central Europe, 510 «., 511 «. ;
Celts, 514 «.; Britain, 524, 527; Italy,
529 n,
Risley, H. H., 167 «., 308, 546 sqq.
Rivers, W. H. R., 139 sqq., 432 «., 548 «.,
549, 553
Rivet, P., 339 sq.
Robinson, C. H., 67 n.
Robinson, H. C, 153, 222 n.
Rockhill, W. W., 168 sqq., 171, 174
Roesler, R., 531, 535
Roeys, the, 178
Rol, the, 78
Rolleston, J., 517
Romans in North Africa, the, 470
Romilly, H. H., 146 «.
Rong, the, 170, 177
Roscoe, J., 91 sq., 97 n.
Rose, H. A., 548 n.
Rosenberg, H. von, 234 «., 235 «., 237 n.
Rostaffnski, J., 506,
Roth, H. Ling, 62 n., 160 «., 231 n.
Routledge, W. S. and K., 97 «.
Roy, S. C, 548 n.
Ruadites, the, 470
Rumanians, the, 318, 331, 530 sqq.
Rumanfya, the, 470
Russell, F., 383 «.
Russell, R. v., 548 n.
Russians, the, 318, 539 sq.
Ruthenians, the, 532, S37
Rutot, M., 10, 14
Sabaeans, the, 498
Sacse, the, 167 sq.
Saint-Adolphe, Milliet de, 417, 419 «.
Saint-Denys, d'H. de, 198
Saint-Martin, V. de, 290 «., 327 «., 328 n.
Sakai, the, 149, 154, 422 sq., 425 sq., and
PI. X fig. 2
Sakalava, the, 241 sq., 245
Sakhersi, the, 51 n.
Salaman, R. N., 495 n.
Salars, the, 169
Salish, the Coast, 363, 366 sq., and map,
PP- 334—5
Salish, the Inland, 343, 366 sqq., and
map, pp. 334—5 V
Salmon, P., 451
Sambaqui (shell-mound) race, the, 417
Samoyeds, the, 275, 301, 303, 3l7,323sq.,
and PI. VI fig. I ; religion of, 277 sq., 325
Sandberg, G., 169 «.
Sande, G. A. J. van der, 146
Sandia, the, 382 n.
San Felipe. (Indians), the, 382 n.
San Ildefonso (Indians), the, 382 n.
San Juari (Indians), the, 382 n.
Santa Ana (Indians), the, 382 n.
Santa Barbara (Indians), the, 369 sq.
Santa Clara (Indians), the, 382
Santa Domingo (Indians), the, 382 n.
Santal, the, 547
Santee-Dakota, the, 371, and map, pp.
334—5
Sapper, K., 390
Sarasin, F., 224 n., 425 «., 426
Sarasin, P., 224 «., 425 «., 426
Sards, the, 460 sq.
Sarmatians (Sarmatae), the, 326, 535 sq.
Sarsi,the, 354, 370,andmap, pp. 334—335
37
578
Man : Past and Present
"Sartes," the, 312
Sassaks, the, 224 sq.
Sauk and Fox, the, 354, 375, 377, and
map, pp. 334—5
Saulteaux, the, 375, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Saxons, the, 449
Sayce, A. H., 236 «., 267 «., 300, 447,
495 sq.
Scandinavia and amber trade, 502 ; "Ary-
an cradle" in, 504 ; population of, 509
Schafarik, P. J., 327 n.
Scharff, R. F., 337
Schetelig, A., 251
Schiefner, A., 286
Sdhleicher, A., 283, 442
Schliemann, H., 463
Schlenker, C. F., 54 n.
Schmid, T. P., 412
Schmidt, H., 258
Schmidt, W., 135 «., 151 «., 221 n., 350,
428 sqq.
Schoetensack, O., 3 n.
Schoolcraft, H. R., 377
Schott, H., 311 n.
Schrader, O., 503 n.
Schultz, J. W., 374 n.
Schumacher, G., 492
Schwalbe, G., 9 n.
Schweinfurth, G., 79 n.
Scotland, racial elements in, 521 sqq.
Scott, J. G., 189 K., 191 7Z., 204
Scythians, the, 168 «., 304, 507, 535 sqq.;
in India, 547
Scytho-Dravidian type, Risle/s, 546
Sea Dayak. See Iban
Sebop, the, 231
Seger, H., 29 n.
Seguas, the, 388 n.
Sekani, the, 361 sq., and map, pp. 334—5
Sekhwans, the, 249
Seki-Manzi, the, 261
Seler, E., 389
Seligman, B. Z., 76 «., 425 n.
Seligman, C. G., 74 »., 75, 76 «., 77 «., 79,
135, 425 «., 484, 499. 548 «.
Seljuks, the, 314
Sellin, E., 492
Semang, the, 138, 149, 153 sqq., 158,
425, and PI. II fig. 2
Seminole, the, 355, 378, 381, and map,
PP.. 334—5
Semites, the, in Babylonia, 262 sqq.,
266, 441, 468 ; Arabs, 470 sqq., 477 sqq-. ;
in Africa, 481, 485 ; Chap, xiv
Semple, E. C., 490 n.
Seneca, the, 354, 377
Senoi. See Sakai
Serbians, the, 532, 538
Serer, the, 47 sqq.
Sergi, G., 36, 442, 447 ; on the Mediter-
ranean race, 451 sq., 456 sqq., 461 sqq.,
47B; in Italy, 512 «., 513, 528 sq. ; in
Greece, 532 ; in Russia, 539 ; Hamites,
468 sq., 483
Seri Indians, the, 396, 401
Setebos, the, 414
Sgaws, the, 187
Shahapts, the, 366 sq., and map, pp.
334—5 •
Shakespear, J., 178 «., 548 n.
Shakshu, the, 543
Shans, the, 166, 180, 191 sqq.; alphabets
of, 195, f98 sq.
Shargorodsky, S., 284
Sharra, the, 272
Shaw, G. A., 242
Shawfas, the, 470
Shawnee, the, 354, 375, 378, and map,
pp. 334-5
Shendu, the, 183
Sheyantd, the, 183
Shilluk, the, 78 sqq., 484
Shinomura, M., 261
Shfns, the, 544
Shipaulovj, the, 382 n.
Shipibos. See Sipivios
Shluhs, thd, 468
Shom Pen, the, 251 sqq.
Shoshoni, the, 355, 367, 371 sq., and map,
PP- 334—5.
Shoshonian Imguistic stock, the, 347, 369
Shrubsall, F. C, 121, 126, 450 n.
Shu, the, 183
Shunopovi, the, 382 n.
Shushwap, the, 343, 367, and map, pp.
334—5
Sia, the, 382 n.
Siah Posh, the, 544
Siamese, the, 180, 199 sq. ; writing sys-
tem, 195
Sibree, J., 242 n,
Sicani, the, 460
Sichumovi, the, 382 n.
Siculi, the, 452, 460, 529
Sidonians. See Phoenicians
Siebold, H. v., 289
Sien-pi, the, 290 sqq.
Sierochevsky, V. A., 314
Sierra-Leonese, the, 53 sqq.
Sifans, the, 211
Sihanakas, the, 242
Sikemeier, W., 549
Sikhs, the, 550
Siksika, the, 354, 370, 372 sqq., and map,
pp. 334—5 .
Singpho, the, 186
Siouan linguistic stock, the, 342, 347,
355. 371 sqq., 381 ; Eastern, 378
Sioux. See Dakota
Sipivios, the, 414
Index
S19
Sirdehi, the, 544
Sistani, the, 544
Siyirs, the, 183
Skeat, W. W., 1 53 «., 1 54 «., 222 «., 426 n.
Skidi, the, 373
Skinner, A., 375 n.
Slavey, the, 361, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Slavo-Kelt, use of term, 512 *
Slavs, the, 318, 321, 327 sqq., 442, 444,
529. S3S. 537 sqq.
Slovaks, the, 331, 532, 537
Slpvenes, the, 532, 536 «.
Smeaton, D. M., 187
Smith, A. H., 215 «.
Smith, Donaldson, 122
Smith, G. Elliot, 2i sq., 25, 78, 81 «.,
351 sqq., 451 «., 452 «., 477 sqq., 480,
491 n.
Smith, R., 10 n.
Smith, S. Percy, 552 n.
Smith, V. A., 551 n.
Smyth, R. Brough, 160 n.
Smyth- Warington, H., 165, 201 n.
Snellman, A. H., 309 «., 320
So, the, 70
Sok-pa, the, 168 «., 172
Soktd, the, 183
SoUas, W. J., ^ io«., 12 sqq., 128 «., 131,
159, 161
Sols, the, 316
Solutrian culture, 12, 14
Somali, the, 443, 468 sq., 484 sqq.
Songhai, the, 64 sqq.
Soninkd, the, 49, Ji
Sonorans, the, 342
Soppitt, C. A., 178
Soyotes, the, 317
Spain, racial elements in, 527 sq.
Spartman, P. S., 370 n.
Speck, F. G., 380
Speiser, F., 1^6. n.
Speke, J. H., 91
Spence, L., 393 n.
Spencer, H., 402 n.
Spencer, Sir W. Baldwin, 427 sq., 430sq.,
433. 434 «■. 436
Spinden, H. J., 367 «., 390 n.
Spy skeletons, the, 8
Squier, E. G., 408
Stack, E., 548 n.
Stanley, H. E. J., loi n.
Stanley, H. M., 95 n.
Starr, F., 112 «.
Steensby, H. P., 359
Stefinsson, V., 360
Stein, Sir M. A., 257 sq., 310 sq., 544.547
Steinen, K. v. D., 347 «., 411, 415 sqq.
Steinmetz, R. S., 81 «., 401 n
Sternberg, L., 288 ».
Stevenson, M. C, 385 n.
Stow, G. W., 104 «., 106 n.
Strandloopers, the, 121
Strepyan culture, 10
Stuhlmann, F., 27 «., 45 «., 93, 470, 476
Sturge, Allen, 15
Subano, the, 247
Sudanese Negro, chap, in
Sumerians, the, 261 sqq., 480 sq., 491;
see also Babylonia
Sumu, the, 197
Sundanese, the, 224
Susa, explorations at, 258, 267
Susquehanna, the, 354, 375, and map,
PP- 334—5
Suti, the, 490
Suyas. See Kayapos
Swahili. See Wa-Swaheli
Swanton, J. R., 355, 363 n.
Swazi, the, 104
Sweden, Alpine type in, 505 «., 509; Nor-
dic type in, 509
Swettenham, Sir F. A., 222 «., 227
Swiss pile-dwellers, the, 529
Sykes, Sir M., 268 n.
Syrians, the, 489 sq.
Szinnyei, J., 317
Tagalogs, the, 156, 224, 237, 246 sq.
Tagbanua, the, 247
Ta-Hia, the, 306
Tahltan Indians, the, 363 n.
Tahtadji, the, 497
Tai (T'hai). See Shans
Tai-Shan language, the, 194 sq.
Tajiks, the, 307, 505, 542 sqq., and PI. XIV
figs. 5, 6
Talaings, the, 180
Talamanca, the, 421 n.
Talbot, P. A., 69 n.
Talko-Hryncewicz, J. D., 259
Talodi, the, 75
Tamai, K., 250
Tamehu, the, 545
Tamils, the, 549
Tanal^'the, 242
Tangkhuls, the, 178
Tanguts, the, 168, 172
Tanoaijs, the, 382 n.
Taos, the, 382 «.
Tapiro, the, 157, and PI. 11 figs. 5 — 7
Tappeiner, F., 512
Tapuyaj the, 417
Tarahumare, the, 395 n.
Taranchi, the, 311
Tarasfcan language, the, 345
Tarasfcos, the, 395
Tardenoisian industry, the, 13
"Taijtars," the, 292 «., 303 ; Kazan, 312 ;
Nqgai, ib. ; Siberian, 318; Volga, 320
Tart^ industry, the, 1 2
58o
Man : Past and Present
Tashons, the, 183 sq,
Tasmanians, the, 159 sqq., 427 sqq., and
PI. Ill figs. I, 2 ,
Taubach tooth, the, 6 ~^
Taut4 the, 183
Tavoyers, the, 188
Tawangs, the, 170
Tawyans, the, 184
Taylor, E. J., 225
Taylor, G., 249 ».
Taylor, W. E., 98, 100
Teda, the, 473
Tehuelche. See Patagonians
Teilhard, P., 6
Teit, J., 367 n.
Tekestas, the, 399
Telinga (Telugu, Tling), the, 180, 549
Temple, Sir R. C, 152 sq., 182, 183 ».,
i87«.
Ten Kate, H. F. C, 147
Tepanecs, the, 342, 394
Terrage, M. de V. du, 23
Tesuque, the, 382 n.
Teton-Dakota, the, 370, and map, pp.
334—5
Teutoni, the, 507
Teutonic race. See Nordic race
Teutons, the, historic and prehistoric,
506, 525 sq., 530
Theal, G. M., 104^., 105 «., 108 «., 126 n.
Thessalians, the, 466
Tho, the, 197 sq., 211
Thomas, Cyrus, 391, 392 «.
Thomas, N. W., 58 n., 59 n., 431 n., 436
Thompson, Basil, 146 ».
Thompson, E. H., 397
Thompson, J. P., 146 n.
Thompson, M. S., 530 «.
Thompson, P. A., 201 n.
Thompson, the, 367, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Thomsen, Wilhelm, 259, 261, 309, 319 «.,
320
Thomson, A., 5 1 1 «.
Thomson, B. H., 555
Thracians, the, 505 sq., 531
Thurn, Sir E. F. im, 4i6«.
Thurnam, J., 517
Thurston, E., 423, 548 n., 549
Tibetans, the, 165 sqq. ; language of,
281
Tibeto-Indo-Chinese branch, 165
Tibu, the, 468, 473 sq.
Ticuna, the, 419
Tilho, M., 69 «., 72 n.
Timni, the, 53 sq.
Timotes, the, 400
Timuquanans, the, 415
Tipperahs, the, 188
Tipuns, the, 250
Tling. See Telinga
Tlingit, the, 343, 355, 363 sq., and map,
PP- 334—5
Toala, the, 426
Toba, the, 420 sq.
Tocaima, the, 402
Tocharish, 441 «., 504
Tocher, J. F., 522
' Toda, the, 549
Toghuz, the, 310 sq.
Toltecs, the, 342, 388 sq., 393, 394 «•
Tongue, M. H., i28«. 1
Tooke, W. H., 1 19
Topinard, P., 38
Torday, E., ii3«., iis«.
Toshk's, the, 538 sq.
Tosti, G., 37
Totonacs. See Huaxtecs
Toung-gnu, the, 188
Toxides, the, 539
Trarsas, the, 469
Tremeame, A. J. N., 58«., 69 «.
Tremlett, C. F., 203 n.
Tshi, the, 46, 58
Tsiampa. See Champa
Tsimshian, the, 343, 363, 393 n.
Tsintsars, the, 530
Tsoneca. See Tehuelche
Tuaregs, the, 468 sq., 473.
Tuck, H. N., 183
Tucker, A. W., 75 n., 79 n.
Tumali, the, 75
Tungthas, the, 188
Tungus, the, 274 sqq., and PI. VI figs. 2, 5
Tunican, the, 378, 381, and map, pp.
334—5
Tunisia, natives of, 448 sq.
Tupi, the, 417, 419; language, 419
Tupi-Guarani, the, 348 ; language, 404 ;
linguistic stock, 415, 417, 419
Turki, the, 169, 172, 302 sqq. ; physical
features, 303 ; in India, 308 ; in Cen-
tral Asia, 308 sqq. ; in Asia Minor,
313 sq. ; in Siberia, 314 sqq.
Turko-Iranian type, Risle/s, 546
Turkomans, the, 305, 312 sq.
Turks, Osmanli, 301, 303, 313 sq.
Turner, S., 171
Turner, Sir William, 15, 159^.
Tusayans, the, 385 sq.
Tuscarora, the, 354, 377 sq., and map,
PP- 334—5
Tylor, Sir E. B., 353, 437 n.
Tynjur, the, 74
Tyrol, the, brachycephaly in, 512
Uaupfe, the, 348
Ude language, 541
Ugrian Finns, the, 317 sqq., 326 sq.
Uigurs, the, 301, 308 sqq., 329 «.
Uinta, the, 371
Index
581
Ujfalvy, C. de, i66sq., 271 sq., 291, 302 «.,
307, 3ii«., 512, 544
Ukit, the, 230 sq.
Uled-Bella, the, 469
Uled-Embark, the, 469
Uled-en-Nasdr, the, 469
Ulu Ayar, the, 230, 426
Umbrians, the, 513, 529
Ural-Altaic peoples. See Northern Mon-
gols
languages, 281 sqq.
Usuns (Wusun), the, 291, 301, 306
Ute, the, 35 5, 371 sq.
Utigurs, the, 329
Uzbegs, the, 303, 312, 315
Vaalpens, the, 120 sq.
Vacas, the, 52
Valentini, P. J. J., 342, 389
Vambdry, A., 314, 330 «.
Vandals, the, 449, 470
Vandeleur, S., 68 «.
Vansittart, E., 170 «.
Vapisianas, the, 416
Vascones, the, 525
Vasilofsky, N. E., 314 «.
Vater, J. S., 127
Vauru, the, 348
Vazimba, the, 239, 244 sq.
Vedda, the, 149, 422, 424, arid PI. x fig. i
Vei, the, 32 «., 46 «., 49
Venedi, the, 537
Veneti, the, 529 «., 537 n.
Vepses, the, 320, 322
Vemeau, R., 9«., 123, 186 «., 198, 451
Vierkandt, A., 37 «.
Vinson, J., 454 «., 456 n.
Virchow, R., 29, 38, 127, 442, 447, 540 «.
Visayas, the, 224, 246
Visigoths, the, 449
Vlachs, the, 530
. Voguls, the, 303, 325
Volkov; T., 259 «., 305 n.
Volz, W., 237 n.
Votes, the, 320, 322
Voth, H. R., 385 n.
Votyaks, the, 325
Vouchereau, A., 243
Wa-Boni, the, 97
Wace, A. J. B., 530 n.
Wa-Chaga, the, 97
Wachsmuth, W., 463 n.
Waddell, L. A., i69«.
Wa-Duruma, the, 97
Wa-Giryama, the, 97 sqq.
Wa-Gweno, the, 97
Wa-Hha, the, 91
Wahuma. See Ba-Hima
Waiilatpuan, the, 363
Wainwright, G. A., 26 «.
Wa-Kamba, the, 97
Wa-Kedi, the, 62«., 96
Wakhi, the, 544
Wa-Kikuyu, the, 97 n.
Wakor^, the, 5 1 n.
Walapai, the, 383
Wales, racial elements in, 522 sqq.
Walkhoff, E., 4«.
Wallace, A. R., 223, 224 «., 226 sqq.
Wallack, H., 450
Walpi, the, 382 n.
Walter, H., 542 «.
Wandorobbo, the, 124
Wangara, the, 5 1 «.
Wa-Nyika, the, 97
Wa-Pokomo, the, 97
Wa-Ruanda, the, 91, 486
Wa-Sandawi, the, 127, 129
Wa-Swahili, the, 44, 100
Wa-Taveita, the, 97
Wa-Teita, the, 97
Watt, G., 181, i82«.
Wa-Tusi, the, 91, 486
Webster, W., 454 «., 521 «.
Weeks, J. H., ii3«.
Weigland, G., 530 «.
Weiss, M., 97 n.
Wends, the, 537
Werner, A., 97 «., 98 «., 102 n.
Weule, K., 97 n.
Wheeler, G. C, 432 n.
Whenohs, the, 184
Whiffen, T., 414/2.
Wibling, Carl, 16
Wichita, the, 355, 371, and map, pp.
334—5 ■
Williamson, R. W., 158
Willis, B., 339
Wilson, Thomas, 175
Winchell, N. H., 344
Winckler, H., 490, 496
Windisch, E., 516
Windt, H. de, 287
Winnebago, the, 355, 375
Wintun, the, pp. 334— 5
Wissler, €., 357 — ■^^^ passim
Wissmann, H. von, 125
Witoto, the, 414, 415 n.
Wochua, the, 124
Wolf, L., 125
WoUaston, A. F. R., 149 «., 154 «., 157 «.
Wolof, the, 44, 47 sqq.
Woodford, C. M., 137 «., 146 «.
Woodthorpe, R. G., 195 n.
Woodward, A. Smith, 3 «., 5 «., 6 n.
Worcester, D. C, is6«.
Wray, L., 155 «.
Wright, F. E., 339
Wright, W., 4 «., 452 n.
582
Man : Past and Present
Wuri, the, 117
Wyandot, the, 375, and map, pp. 334 — 5
Wylde, A. B., 487 n.
Xenopol, A. D., 531
Yacana, the, 41 1
Yadrintseff, N. M., 309 «.
Vagi, S., 261
Yagnobi, the, 542 n.
Yahgans, the, 411,413; language of, 413
Yakut, the, 172, 274 sq. ; language, 283 «.,
303, 314 sq.
Yamamadi, the, 348
Yankton-Dakota, the, 371, and map,
PP- 334—5
Yavapai, the, 383
Yavorsky, J. L., 305
Yayo (Yao), the, 197
Yedina, the, 69
Yegrai, the, 172
Yegurs, the, 311 «.
Yellow Knives, the, 361, and map, pp.
334—5
Yemanieh, the, 74
Y^-tha, the, 307 sq.
Yezidi, the, 497
Yidoks, the, 543
Y-jen, the, 211
Yo, the, 183
Yokut, the, pp. 334—5
Yoma, the, 188
Yoruba, the, 46, 58 sq.
Yotkan, explorations at, 258
Younghusband, Sir F., 301 sq.
Yuan-yuans, the, 292, 307
Yuehi, the, 378 sqq., and map, pp. 334 — 5
Yud-chi, the, 291, 305 sqq., 542 n.
Yugo-Slavs, the, 331, 537
Yuin, the, 437
Yukaghir, the, 274 sq. ; writmg system,
284 sq., 344
Yuma, the, 383
Yuman linguistic stock, the, 355, 369
Yumanas, the, 416
Yungas, the, 408
Zaborowski, S., 448, 456, S36«., 539 sq-
Zandeh, the, 44, 78 sq., 81 sq.
Zapotecs, the, 390, 395
Zimbabwe monuments, the, 44, 89 sq.,
105, 241 n.
Zimmer, H., 521 «.
Zimmern, H., 269 n.
Ziryanians, the, 324
Zoghawa, the, 73
Zulu-Xosa, the, 44, loi sqq., 129, and PI.
I fig. 2
Zuni, the, 382, and map, pp. 334 — 5
CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED BY J. B. PEACE, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
PLATR I
Hau>,[, Wc^lcni Siidaiir
Xi-jro
2. Zulu, Bantu NeLji'uid
3. I\'ni:iiiii,i HnttiaiUii
3. liubliinan
6. Buslinian
PLATH II
1. AiuUimaiiL^L, Nl^iUi
Seniaii;^, .\t'i;rili.
^ii«^
1
r**' v^^Ik
i
■iS^ISF ^Kf^i^B^F
'^"'^m
3ln^
3. Acta, Net;"rito
4. Cciitial AfVican, Negrillo
PLATR III
^
^
•€!»« J
f
f
•^^^^s
!►•
n^
!►*»-■-
^»
Jj^KTwy^*!- j^
&
^^
r
^/ m
r
''■^'■^^S^
-■-^^f^
V
\
I. [\LMii.iiiian
I'asniai'
4. Kiwai, l'.'i|iuan
'"'^
1
,,''v- ^ajl
W.^:'
^ ^
i -;.:.:
W
j^
..--^
^^t
yj
|.
5. Hula, I'a|"juo-M''Iaiii'sian
Ci. Hula, Pa|)uii-MclaiK'sian
PLATE IV
I. Chinese
Chinese
3 Kaia Kirghiz, Alcmf^olo Turki 4. Kara-Kirghiz, Mongolo-Turki
' I r,l I
5. Kara-Kirghiz
6. Manchu-Tung'us
PI.ATR V
I. Ili.Lii. niivt'd I 'roti'-Maln\'
liLi'^inesc, M:iU\au
j. Ildiu.H. I-ni-iit, Mala\,in
4. Hagdlin. Malayan
PLATE VI
Tiinyus
_| l\ ilniiils, \\ tsti 111 Alon^ul
GoUl of Amur Ri\ei', Tunmis
6, Gilyak ('N.E. ?v[ongol)
1^1. ATI-: \'ii
^. 4. |a|i,tnr>L-. iiiixrd M,iHLliii-K'in-;iii ami Snullirrn Moii
5 Ki)if 111
(I. I.apii
PLATE ".Vi 1 1
m
i
\
'*
";
^\
%
',
I. Eskimo
Indian, Noilh-west co:ist of
North America
'
iM
jjt
^MM
^
^^M(m
^j*
y^fyk
'J
t^mM
Sm|
^mlt^k
L^f
^M^Ub
M "^
1 ^ifNH
3k ' 1
3. Cuc(jpa, Vuman
4. Navaho, Athapascan
5. Dakota, Siouan
6. iJalvOta, Siouan
PLATH IX
I. Carib
2. (juatuso, Costa Kii ,i
V Xati\L' (if ( Hii\ al'i, M. uailiir
4. \ali\e iif Z;'iiiil)isa, l-aiiaclor
T. Tehuel-i. lit', I'ataynni
(>. 'I'ehuel-chu, J'ala'^^ mia
PLATE X
I. \'c(lda, rre-I)ra\ idiai'
Sakai, I'l'i-I )i'a\iil)a
1^^'''**^QL
f^'^J^P^'
wf^^^^^^f^w
^'"^a
Iff'
^^y^
fc
'^
3. hula, rru-lJrax iclian
_). I'aniyan, l'i-e-I)ra\i(liaii
6. Australian
PLATR XI
1 ).inf, Nciidic
2. Dane, Xfjrclii"
4. 1 ireLon, iiiiNcd .-\l|nn(
Swiss, Nordi
(h S« iss, Alpi
PLATE XII
. CaUilan, lljerian
2. Irisliiiiaii Mcditerranr-nn
3. Kababish, mixed Semite
4. Kababish, mixed Semite
3. E;4yptian IJcdouin, mixed
Semite
(>. Af'dian, Iranian
PLATR XIII
I. }ii>hariii, I laniitc
nishai'iii, 1 lamitc
4. Masai, mixed Nilotic Ilaiiiitc
Shilluk, Hamitic Nilote
6. Shilluk, Nildlc
PLATB XIV
I. Kurd, Nordic
Kurd, Nordic
3. Annenian, Annenoid Alpine
5. Tajik, Al|jine
6. Tajil<, mixed Alpine and Turki
PLATK XV
Sinli.ile>e, nii\ud ■■Ar\-,in"
Sinhalese, mixed "Ai"\an
Hindu, mixed "Aryan"
4- KIinL^", 1 )i'a\ iilian
5. Linya, Dra\idian
6. \'akk;di_i^a, mixed Alpine
PLATB XVI
I, 2 Raiatca, Polynesian
Maori, Pohaiesian
4. Maori, Polynesian
;, 6 Caroline Islands, Micronesian